Cesar Ruiz (Source: Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office)JEFFERSON PARISH, LA (WAFB) -
A 19-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder after admitting to pouring liquor in his 2-month-old son's feeding tube while the infant was in the hospital.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office reported Cesar Ruiz of Belle Chasse was charged with attempted first-degree murder after physicians determined the baby had a blood alcohol content of .289.
Sheriff Newell Normand said Lucas Ruiz was initially admitted to Ochsner Hospital on Oct. 16 with breathing difficulties. The sheriff added he was diagnosed with an unnamed illness and scheduled for surgery on Oct. 31.
According to investigators, the baby started having seizures while undergoing treatment Sunday morning. It was then the infant's high BAC was discovered.
JPSO was called in to investigate and questioned the parents.
Detectives said the boy's mother told them while at home Saturday night after leaving the hospital to shower, she grabbed something from the freezer and noticed her bottle of rum was there. They reported she told them when she went back to the freezer a little while later the bottle of Bacardi Silver Rum was gone.
Authorities said Ruiz was then questioned and at first denied knowing what happened to the alcohol. They said he also had no explanation about the baby's blood alcohol level.
Deputies said Ruiz eventually confessed to taking a feeding tube from the hospital before they left to go back home and once they were at the house, he poured some rum into the tube and took it back to the hospital.
The detectives said Ruiz explained the baby's mother walked out of the room before feeding him late Saturday night and while she was away he poured the liquor directly into the feeding tube.
They reported Ruiz claimed he did it to help relieve his son's suffering, but added he did not intend to kill him.
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