Father admits to squeezing, throwing infant son, police say

ARUNDEL, Maine — A man told police he squeezed his 2½-month-old son’s head in frustration before throwing him hard into a living room chair, causing severe brain bleeding that led to the infant’s death, according to a police affidavit released Tuesday.

Ethan Henderson died early Tuesday at a Portland hospital after being taken off life support.

His father, 23-year-old Gordon Collins-Faunce of Arundel, has been charged with aggravated assault. The Maine attorney general’s office said the death now is considered a homicide and that charges will be upgraded in the next day or two.

Collins-Faunce entered no plea during a court appearance Monday. He’s being held on $100,000 bail.

Collins-Faunce lived in an Arundel mobile home with his 23-year-old fiancee, Christina Henderson; their twin sons; Henderson’s 3-year-old daughter from a previous relationship; and Collins-Faunce’s stepmother.

After police were called to the home on Saturday morning, Ethan was taken to Maine Medical Center, where doctors said he was suffering from severe bleeding around the brain.

Collins-Faunce told police he became frustrated by the boy’s crying, held him suspended by his head and threw him into a living room chair.

“On a scale of 1-10, he estimated his force to be about 8 or 9,” the affidavit reads. “He said he saw [Ethan's] head snap back when he landed in the chair.”

Collins-Faunce told investigators he often felt overwhelmed having to care for the children, especially when he had forgotten to take his medication for post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said he accidentally broke his son’s arm in a fit of anger and frustration when he was 4 weeks old.

In order to make comments, you must verify your account.

In order to comment on SunJournal.com, you must use your real name and include the town in which you live in your profile. A member of our staff will call you to verify this information. To join in, fill out your user profile completely and check the box "please verify my status." We'll get back to you within one business day to verify your account.

Login or create an account here.

Our policy prohibits comments that are:

  • Defamatory, abusive, obscene, racist, or otherwise hateful
  • Excessively foul and/or vulgar
  • Inappropriately sexual
  • Baseless personal attacks or otherwise threatening
  • Contain illegal material, or material that infringes on the rights of others
  • Commercial postings attempting to sell a product/item
If you violate this policy, your comment will be removed and your account may be banned.

Advertisement

Comments

verified

Throw the book at him!!!

Sounds like this guy is already making excuses for his actions...probably never had to be held accountable for anything he has ever done...the state is also to blame for this, when they put the child right back into the home where he recieved his broken arm..this is happening way too much lately with these kids and short fuses..they should be made to go on birth control as soon as they hit high school..maybe alot more children would be spared the sad life this poor child got, but didn't deserve...throw him in jail and throw away the key..maybe it will give the next Joe Blow something to think about when they are reaching the end of their ropes with a child..or anyone for that matter...

Advertisement

Stay informed — Get the news delivered for free in your inbox.

I'm interested in ...