Lakewood parents charged in death of 3-month-old baby

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (WPVI) -- A couple is charged with killing their infant daughter in Lakewood, New Jersey.

Caitlin Gibson, 28, and Ruben Santiago, 36, are charged with first-degree murder.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, police were called to a residence on Pinehurst Drive in Lakewood for a report of a 3-month-old baby having difficulty breathing.

When officers arrived, the baby was unresponsive. She was taken to the hospital and then transferred to a pediatric intensive care unit.

Authorities say she died the next day.

An autopsy revealed the baby's cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, causing hemorrhage and a skull fracture.

Gibson and Santiago were arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder.

"Hearing that story... as a parent, I can't imagine somebody doing something like that to a 3-month-old," said Kevin Darbo, a father who lives nearby.

The couple made their first appearance in front of a judge Thursday.

We spoke with neighbors in their apartment building. One woman who lives down the hall spoke anonymously.

"It's horrible. Terrible. I don't know what could've happened. I just don't know," she said.

Neighbors say they've noticed police activity this week ,but they're just now finding out about the tragic circumstances.

"It's kind of getting me a little choked up even thinking about it," said Darbo. "Because how could you, as a mother, as a father... It's just a bad situation all around."

Gibson and Santiago are locked up in Ocean County pending a detention hearing set for Tuesday of next week.