McKeesport man faces homicide charge in connection with infant son's death

A McKeesport man who police said shook his infant son to the point where the boy experienced brain bleeding and died now faces homicide charges.

Michael Barber, 29, initially gave witnesses and police several explanations for how the five-month-old baby was injured on Aug. 31, including that his toddler dropped the infant, his toddler fell on the infant and that he fell while carrying the infant.

The infant, Michael Barber Jr., was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in critical condition and died Sept. 4. Hospital staff determined that he suffered subdural hemorrhaging, arachnoid hemorrhaging and cerebral edema, which are indicative of the infant being shaken, Allegheny County Police said.

The elder Barber was charged in September with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person, according to a criminal complaint.

On Monday, the county medical examiner’s office notified police that the infant died from abusive head trauma and the manner of death was ruled homicide. Police said they obtained a warrant charging Barber with homicide.

Barber turned himself in to county police Wednesday morning and was taken to Allegheny County Jail.

Paramedics and police had responded to the Harrison Village housing complex in McKeesport around 12:30 a.m. Aug. 31 for the report of an unresponsive infant. The woman who had called 911, a neighbor of Barber’s with first-aid training, said Barber brought the unresponsive infant to her home for help. She said the child’s limbs were cold and he was not breathing, according to the complaint. She performed rescue breathing and CPR until paramedics arrived.

Barber ultimately told police he had shaken the child twice, according to the complaint. He said he’d been frustrated for a while with “always being left to care for his two children,” the complaint said.