Babysitter kills five-month-old baby by throwing him into playpen because he was fussy

A babysitter has been arrested for the death of an infant after he died while in her care. Barbara Kendrick, 65, had been taking care of 5-month-old Cooper Dubovik when he became really fussy and in frustration, she forcefully threw the tender child into his playpen.


The baby's parents had been working on that fateful Tuesday morning, so they dropped Cooper off at the babysitter's house in Jacksonville, Florida. Barbara has been the family's babysitter for about a month and is related to them by marriage; one of her relatives is married to one of Cooper's father's relatives.

The infant suffered a fractured skull and was placed on life support, while Barbara was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse. Cooper eventually died and her charge was upgraded to murder. She is being held without bond.

Sgt. Jay Farhat said that Barbara initially dodged questions but eventually confessed that she threw the baby because he had been fussy while teething. When she realized the danger she had caused the child, she called 911 at about 2:15 p.m.

"Once the child arrived at the hospital, the doctors were able to determine the child had internal injuries that were consistent with some type of trauma," Farhat said. 

He continued;

“It appears she got a little frustrated at some point, and lost her temper."