‘Blackout drunk’ dad fatally hurts 8-week-old, officials say. ‘Don’t remember anything’
A Minnesota man is facing murder charges in the death of his 8-week-old son after telling police he doesn’t remember what happened because he was blackout drunk, according to court records.
Mark Russell Forster, 39, is charged with second-degree murder, according to court documents. An attorney for Forster was not available in court records.
On Jan. 31, the baby’s mother took him to a hospital after he was seizing and turned blue, a criminal complaint said. Scans showed that the baby had multiple brain bleeds, the complaint said.
Forster told a doctor that he may have “dropped (the baby) or done something” and that he “was not in his right state of mind last night,” the complaint said.
The baby had been with Forster overnight while his mom was asleep and the next day when she went to work. When she got home, she noticed he had been sleeping for an unusual amount of time and “tensed up” and was crying a “different cry,” court records said.
His mother said it seemed like he had a spasm in one leg and that’s when she took him to a hospital.
“She told police that Forster had been a supportive partner and father, but she had been concerned that he had been drinking too much,” the complaint said.
Forster told police that he got home from work around 1 a.m. and “kinda delved into liquor a little bit,” court records said. He said he drank a “half of a fifth” of hard liquor.
According to the complaint, Forster told officials he drank more than usual that morning because he was stressed from work. He also said he smoked weed, officials said.
Medical staff told authorities that the baby’s injuries were likely caused by force or trauma.
Forster later told investigators that he “had anxiety” and he “may have harmed his child because of his memory lapse.” He also said he was worried “he may have dropped or sat on the child,” the complaint said.
Authorities found a text Forster sent to the baby’s mother that said, “Yea. I’m just really upset with myself because I got so blackout drunk last night I don’t remember anything. This is all my fault,” according to court records.
The baby’s injuries were found to be consistent with abusive head trauma. Officials said the baby suffered from brain damage and bilateral retinal hemorrhages, consistent with “severe traumatic injury that includes acceleration/deceleration/rotational forces such as are created with a violent shaking mechanism.”
On March 22, the baby died.
An autopsy found that the baby died from complications due to blunt force head trauma.
This story was originally published July 16, 2024 at 2:32 PM with the headline "‘Blackout drunk’ dad fatally hurts 8-week-old, officials say. ‘Don’t remember anything’."
