Screaming dad shook his 5-month-old son to death because he 'just wanted him to be quiet'Hannah Broughton Sun, October 18, 2026 at 9:18 AM UTC
The 5-month-old died five days after being taken to the hospital (Image: WTVR)A dad stands accused of causing his baby sons death by shaking him, after allegedly admitting to the crime in a phone call
A Virginia man has been charged over the death of his baby boy after allegedly admitting in a phone call that he shook his child while screaming at him because he "just wanted him to be quiet."
According to the Hopewell Police Department, police charged 22-year-old Nathan Travis-Nunnally with felony homicide, child abuse, and aggravated malicious wounding.
On Thursday, October 15, at his preliminary hearing, prosecutors played a cellphone recording featuring Travis-Nunnally admitting to shaking his child, as per CBS affiliate WTVR.
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The case began after the initial shocking incident on June 14. Police received a call at about 10:40 a.m. about an unresponsive child on the 4900 block of Oaklawn Boulevard in Hopewell, located some 20 miles south of Richmond. The scene was attended by both the Hopewell Police Department and the Hopewell Fire Department.
Upon arrival at the residence, officials discovered an unresponsive 5-month-old boy and began treatment. After the first responders took care of the child, they took him to the hospital "for a life-threatening injury."
According to WTVR, the baby, named Skottie, was initially taken to TriCities Hospital before being flown to Chippenham Hospital. He was finally admitted to the ICU at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHoR), but just five days after being found by the services, the child sadly died.
Police described the injuries as consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Travis-Nunnally was arrested in connection with the baby Skottie's death and booked into the Riverside Regional Jail. In the call that was played to the courtroom on Thursday, the defendant could be heard saying, "I just wanted him to be quiet," to the child's uncle.
22-year-old Nathan Travis-Nunnally remains in custody (Image: Hopewell Police Department)
"I started screaming at him. I picked him up, and then I shook him," he was heard saying.
It is also alleged that Travis-Nunnally went on to say that he "told him to shut the f- up" because the boy was agitated, and then described his son suddenly going limp, prompting him to call 911, authorities said.
Meanwhile, during the time of the alleged offense, the child's mother was serving a weekend sentence in jail, according to WTVR. The mother told the outlet that while she had been engaged to Travis-Nunnally, they had since broken up.
"I mean, Skottie was my heart, my soul, everything to me," the mother, Sarina Aldrich, told WTVR. "Seeing it all at once and just reliving it in that moment is hard. It's hard for all of us, all the family."
A grand jury is scheduled to consider the case and charges in December.
Source: Crime
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