Police: Peters man charged in infant's death said he tripped on a grocery bag

A Peters man told police his infant son sustained fatal head injuries when he tripped on a grocery bag while carrying the child last month, according to the charges against him.

Jordan Clarke, 36, is charged with homicide in connection with the death of the infant, referred to in the criminal complaint only by his initials, S.C.

Police responded to Clarke’s home on Pleasantview Drive just after 9 p.m. May 23 for a report of an infant who was not breathing. When officers arrived, they found Clarke in the living room with the child, whom authorities described in the complaint as unresponsive and having a bluish hue to his skin.

Clarke told police he fell on top of the infant, according to the complaint.

Clarke’s sister told investigators that she didn’t see what happened, but rather, “I just heard him scream, ‘Call 911’ and that he wasn’t breathing,” police wrote. Clarke’s father, too, said he did not see what happened.

Clarke explained that he’d been in the basement holding the child about 8:45 p.m., according to the complaint. He said he was carrying the boy to get a bottle of formula when he caught his foot on a grocery bag and fell with the child in his arms.

The child was flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where he was pronounced dead the next afternoon.

Doctors at the hospital wrote in a report that the infant’s injuries were “gravely concerning for physical abuse” and noted that the injuries weren’t consistent with having been fallen on from standing height. The boy had injuries to both sides of his brain and possible fractures in both legs.

In addition to homicide, Clarke was charged Tuesday with three counts of aggravated assault and one count of child endangerment. He is being held in the Washington County Prison without bail. Court records did not list a defense attorney as of Wednesday afternoon. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 21.