November 17th, 2011
Police: Baby severely abused by San Marcos man

by SEAN KIMMONS

A San Marcos man allegedly abused his infant son, causing him to suffer several broken bones and other injuries, police say.

The infant’s father, Anthony Villanueva, 24, was arrested Nov. 4 for injury to a child, a first-degree felony. If convicted, he could face between five and 99 years in prison.

Villanueva

The nine-month-old boy, Zane Villanueva, was treated at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin on Sept. 2 for an enlarged head. An MRI test revealed blood clots, according to an affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant.

Additional testing at the hospital showed that Zane also had several fractures to his wrists and knees. He also sustained fractured ribs when he was less than two weeks old, says the affidavit, written by San Marcos Police Detective Kathy Misiaszek.

Dell Hospital physician Dr. George Edwards asserted that the injuries were non-accidental abusive trauma, investigators say.

When questioned, Villanueva denied any intentional harm to his son. He did reveal, however, that he may have been “rough” with his son when he changed his diapers. He also told police that Zane’s head accidentally hit a door as he carried him through the home, the affidavit says.

A day after Villanueva was interviewed, the boy’s mother, Sara Rollings, relayed a similar story to police as if it were rehearsed and coached, investigators say.

Throughout the investigation, police said that Villanueva had different accounts of the injuries.

Villanueva has since been released from Hays County jail on a $20,000 bond, jail records show.

On Aug. 2, Villanueva was arrested on another count for pushing Rollings into a wall, causing her pain, a second affidavit reports. He was charged with assault with bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, and released on a $3,000 bond, records show.

An emergency protective order for Zane and the couple’s four-year-old daughter was served Sept. 15 by Child Protective Services, civil court records show.

SEAN KIMMONS reports for the Hays Free Press where this story was originally published. It is reprinted here through a news partnership between the Free Press and the San Marcos Mercury.