Westport man held pending dangerousness hearing for allegedly strangling 2-month-old

Jo C. Goode  |  The Herald News

WESTPORT — A Westport man is being held pending a dangerousness hearing for allegedly strangling a two-month-old infant that the man and his domestic partner were in the process of adopting.  

According to court records, Stephen Kegyes, 32, of Gifford Road, was arraigned in Fall River District Court on Tuesday and the alleged crime was reportedly caught by a home video camera. 

Westport police had been contacted by medical staff at Boston Children’s Hospital and members of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families on Sunday after the baby was transported there from St. Luke’s Hospital with rib fractures and multiple leg fractures. 

On Monday, police received another call from DCF that Kegyes’ partner had apparently viewed video from the in-home surveillance camera. 

Police reported disturbing images of an allegedly agitated Kegyes holding a cellphone when he reached down to the infant who had been placed on a couch and placed his hand over the boy’s face, covering his nose and mouth. 

Kegyes allegedly then picked the infant up by the neck about shoulder height then tossed him into the corner of the couch. 

The court document indicates that Kegyes, who had called 911, indicated to his partner that he regretted calling for rescue, saying that if he lost the baby that he would kill himself. 

A dangerousness hearing is set for Friday in Fall River District Court and is being charged with three counts of permitting injury to a child, two counts of strangulation and one count of assault and battery on a child with injury. 

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com