A 23-year-old Fridley man has been charged in Anoka County with second-degree murder in the death of his infant son.
Fridley man charged in March death of infant son
The criminal complaint says Aaron Michael Orlando Rathke, 23, would abuse the child until he passed, then try to resuscitate him.
October 14, 2023 at 8:47PM
According to the criminal complaint filed Friday, Aaron Michael Orlando Rathke and the mother of 5-month-old Kaiden Rathke drove the baby to a Fridley police station on March 1 after he had stopped breathing at their home that night. The infant was taken to Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Rathke told police at the time that the baby regularly had difficulty breathing and that he would often use CPR to "bring him back," according to the complaint.
In August, the mother told police that Rathke killed their son and that she had been scared to come forward because he abused her and the child. She said he would regularly hurt their baby and cause him to pass out when he wouldn't fall asleep. Rathke would then do CPR to resuscitate the baby, the mother said in the complaint.
Police said the mother of Rathke's other son, 7, told them the suspect had hit her and thrown her against walls during their relationship. She said their child had a history of seizures, which stopped after he no longer spent overnights with his father.
In October, the medical examiner ruled Kaiden Rathke's death a homicide, caused by blunt force injuries.
Rathke remains jailed with bail set at $250,000. Court records do not list an attorney or his next court date.
The pilot was the only person inside the plane, and was not injured in the emergency landing, according to the State Patrol.
