A tragic and deeply disturbing case has shaken Lakewood as authorities announced murder charges against a local couple in connection with the death of their three-month-old daughter.
Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer says that Ruben Santiago, 36, and Caitlin Gibson, 28, both residents of Lakewood, have been charged with Murder following the results of a harrowing investigation and autopsy report.
According to officials, the chain of events began on Monday evening, when Lakewood Township Police responded to an emergency call on Pinehurst Drive reporting that an infant was struggling to breathe. Officers arrived to find the baby unresponsive. Emergency medical personnel rushed the infant to Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township before she was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) in Neptune.
Despite the frantic efforts of doctors, the child was pronounced dead on Tuesday.
A post-mortem examination conducted the next day by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that the infant had died from blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in a fractured skull and a subdural hematoma. The death was officially ruled a homicide.
What followed was an intensive investigation involving the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Special Victims Unit, Lakewood Police, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Authorities concluded that Santiago and Gibson—the child’s parents—were responsible for the fatal injuries.
On Wednesday, both were taken into custody at Lakewood Police Headquarters. They are currently being held at the Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.w.”
No additional details regarding motive or prior history have been released at this time. The investigation remains ongoing.