An affidavit to a search warrant filed in Augusta County Circuit Court has shed additional light on the death of a Verona baby, which resulted in a murder charge against the baby’s father earlier this month.
The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office announced on June 3 that 25-year-old Blake Clark, of Verona, had been charged with murder following the death of his son. Clark was initially charged with child abuse (with injury) about two weeks before the murder charge was lodged against him.
The baby, Phoenix Clark, was almost four months old when he died.
Affidavit cites blunt force trauma to baby’s skull
On May 17, an Augusta County deputy arrived at 51 Meade Park Circle in Verona for a report of an unresponsive infant. Personnel from the Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad were already on the scene providing medical care to the baby, including CPR, and “got a pulse,” the affidavit said…