ROCKLAND, Maine — The cases against a couple accused of injuring a baby during an argument last fall have been continued until July.
Hearings were held Thursday in Knox County Unified Court in the cases against Andrew P. Baldwin Jr., 19, of Friendship and Santana M. Rytky, 20, of Rockland. Each are charged with felony assault against a child younger than 6 years old and endangering the welfare of a child.
The cases were not resolved in Thursday’s dispositional hearings.
A police investigation began in November when the couple took the child, who was less than 3 months old, to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport because he appeared to have been spitting up blood, according to Rockland police Detective Joel Neal.
Doctors noticed bruises that were not consistent with the statements made by the parents, according to Neal. The child later was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland for an examination and was determined to also have a broken rib that was healing.
The investigation determined that the couple had been arguing while one of them was holding the child. They struggled and the child was injured, according to the detective.
Neal issued both Baldwin and Rytky a summons for the charges in February and the district attorney’s office filed the formal criminal complaints in March.
The next hearing for both defendants is scheduled for July 28.
Rytky’s attorney filed a motion, approved by the court, for Rytky to have a mental examination to determine whether she is competent to stand trial. One question raised in the request was whether she was competent to waive her right to remain silent after being read her Miranda warning by police.