Michael Ninomiya Denver Colorado dad tries to kill 5 year old son after dunking him in icy waters along Cherry Creek Trail. Father charged with attempted murder. History of mental illness.
A Colorado father has been accused of trying to kill his 5-year-old son by dumping him in frigid waters in Denver last week.
Michael Ninomiya, 42, and his son were pulled out from the frigid waters of a fenced-off drainage culvert along the High Line Canal on the Cherry Creek Trail on January 12. Both were hospitalized after their rescue, with the child listed in critical condition, according to Fox 31.
Two days later, the Denver Police Department tweeted a crime alert seeking information from the public as to how the boy received his life-threatening injuries. The child’s father was arrested on Wednesday.
Ninomiya confessed that he tried to kill his son during interviews with police officers.
He told cops that he pulled his son into the water and physically assaulted him to a point where he was unsure whether the boy was still breathing, according to charging documents.
Mother said she had no concerns
He said he then began hurting himself ‘to make it look like an accident’ before he decided to call for help.
The boy’s mother told police that Ninomiya and the child had left to go on a hiking ‘adventure’ that morning, but became concerned when it grew dark and they hadn’t returned.
Ninomiya’s wife of eight years said that prior to the incident she had ‘no concerns’ about sending the boy off with his dad and wouldn’t have let them leave if she thought that he might hurt the kid.
The boy remains hospitalized at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in critical condition due to fluctuating pressure in his brain, police told Fox News. It remained dubious whether the boy would survive.
History of mental illness
During a Thursday court appearance, Ninomiya’s attorney said he had severe mental health issues and was not accepting treatment for them in the past. The attorney said that after receiving treatment at the hospital, Ninomiya feels immense guilt for what transpired the Denver Channel reported.
Records show that Ninomiya has a history of mental health treatment and was diagnosed with schizophrenia while he was in his 20s.
He’s charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder of a victim under 12, and attempted child abuse that would knowingly or recklessly cause death.
A judge issued a $1 million cash bond under the stipulation that Ninomiya would be under in-home detention and required to take medication.
It remained unclear why the father had sought to kill his own son.
