On July 10, 2012, Pima County Sheriff’s detectives obtained an arrest warrant on charges of First Degree Murder and Physical Child Abuse for William Blankenburg. On November 15, 2011, authrities were called by University Medical Center personnel in reference to a case of possible child abuse by Blankenburg, of a 7-month-old female infant.
The child had serious, life-threatening injuries and was brought to the hospital by the boyfriend of the baby’s mother. Detectives later discovered that the infant had suffered traumatic injuries to the head, chest and extremities. Due to the severity of the injuries, the Sheriff’s Homicide Unit also assisted in the investigation early on.
The mother of the child reported she was at work at the time the injuries occurred and that Blankenburg was alone with her daughter during that time. The nature of the baby’s injuries was inconsistent with Blankenburg’s account of how the baby came to be injured.
On November 17, 2011, the mother decided to have her daughter disconnected from life support.
Sheriff’s Homicide detectives arrested Blankenburg in Cochise County near Tombstone and booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center.