Daughter: Father Shook Baby, Threw Him on Street

An Anza man threw his girlfriend's baby into the street, the man's daughter testified in court today.

Dannie Joe Farnum, 30, is on trial for allegedly inflicting injuries that killed his girlfriend's 7-month-old son.

The man allegedly injured the child on November 10, 2008, outside his girlfriend's trailer home in the 40000 block of Apple Road in Anza, prosecutor Jennifer Garcia argued today during opening statements.

Farnum's 6-year-old daughter witnessed what happened, she said as she sat on the witness stand today.

Defense attorney Whitney Ryan asked the girl -- called Jane Doe during the trial -- what happened.

"It got shooked," the girl said, smiling and leaning back in her chair.

"Who shook the baby?" Ryan asked.

"Daddy."

"Why did he shake the baby?"

"Because he was mad."

The infant suffered a "massive" skull fracture causing instant death, according to Bethany Venable, a forensic technician who examined the infant's body.

This happened when Farnum threw the baby into the street, Farnum's daughter testified.

"I see him shook him and dropped him in the street," the child said.
To read about Farnum's arrest, .

The infant's last day alive

The child died at his mother's home on Nov. 10, according to a witnesses.

Farnum brought his two children, his daughter who was then 4 years old and his son who was 3 years old, to visit his girlfriend, Delice Sharon Preston.

The woman had three children -- a teen girl and a younger son in addition to the infant.

The baby's father died only two months before she started dating Farnum, defense attorney Gregory Henderson told the jury.

On the evening of the death, Farnum emerged from the master bedroom where the child was found and announced something was wrong, the prosecutor said.

"He yells out, according to him, 'The baby's not breathing,'" Garcia said.

Farnum dialed 911 and began an improvised form of CPR.

"He was pushing with a full fist or full palm," according to Greg Murphy, the first firefighter on the scene.

When a firefighter arrived, he rushed the baby out to the paramedic, Murphy said.

"As we were getting out, there was a gentleman running out with a small child in his arms," he said.

The firefighter tried to resuscitate the infant, as did other paramedics. It was airlifted to Inland Valley Medical Center, though he was never resuscitated.

Killer or loving father

The child has a cut near his ear, a bruise around his right eye and his brain was severely bleeding, according to the forensic technician and the firefighter.

"These injuries were not an accident," Garcia said. "It took an amount of force you wouldn't believe."

The child also had a rash and sores, Garcia said.

The injuries are horrific, but none of the physical evidence shows Farnum committed the crime, Henderson said. "The evidence will not show it was (the death) was at the hands of my client, Mr. Farnum."

The defendant often helped take care of the child, feeding him and changing his diapers, the defense attorney said.

Farnum, sitting in a collared button-down shirt and slacks sitting between his two attorneys, put his palm over his eyes and wiped away tears as he spoke.

The home "smelled like a petting zoo"

The family's home was a mess and the children living there were filthy, according to several witnesses who testified.

"Even before I walked into the residence, I could smell urine," Venable said. "It smelled like a petting zoo or barnyard."

Preston had two small dogs, Garcia said.

The prosecutor showed photos of the crime scene depicting mounds of laundry piled next to the infant's crib, dishes scattered near the sink, stains on the walls and various possessions piled on every flat surface.

"It was very dirty and cluttered," the firefighter testified. "I remember noting how dirty they (Preston's children) were and unsanitary."