On Tuesday April 8, 2014 at approximately 11:00 am, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by University Medical Center in Tucson and advised of a possible Child Abuse case. UMC staff advised that a 19 year old Sierra Vista woman came into the Hospital with a three month old boy and advised that he needed to be treated for fractured ribs.
The woman advised that her son had been violently ill over the weekend and she took him to a pediatrician in Sierra Vista in the morning. The pediatrician believed that the child could have swallowed an unknown object causing the medical issues and he completed a chest x-ray. As a result of this x-ray, the pediatrician had referred the woman and child to UMC as he observed several broken ribs in the baby.
Once at UMC, additional x-rays were taken and the medical staff discovered several skull fractures in various stages of healing, broken ribs, and a broken arm. These injuries could not be explained by the mother who advised that a twin brother was staying with family friends in Tucson at this time. Medical staff requested the mother to bring the second child to the hospital for evaluation, and once the boy arrived, x-rays were performed to determine if he had any medical conditions. The x-rays concluded that the second child also had a skull fracture which was also reported to the Sheriff’s Office.
Interviews with the mother were conducted at UMC and she indicated that her boyfriend watches the children sometimes, and he did stay with them on April 5, 2014 while she went shopping during the day.
Sheriff’s Detectives contacted the boyfriend in Sierra Vista and made arrangements to interview him in the evening hours after he was off work. After the interview was concluded, 21 year old Steven Michael Rothbauer was arrested and booked on 4 counts of Aggravated Assault, 2 counts of Endangerment, and 2 counts of Child Abuse.
The investigation is being continued by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.