The mother shared that Gunner and his twin Madelyn were both born premature at 34 weeks. The babies had not yet been released from the hospital when Gunner was injured.
22-year-old Noah Benjamin Bliss from Harnett County was arrested at WakeMed in Raleigh. He was charged with the first-degree murder of his 3-week-old son Gunner Bliss. He also faced charges of child abuse and inflicting serious bodily injury on the baby, from the incident that occurred on October 6, this year.
“I want justice for my son,” Savannah Bliss said. “I trusted my husband to watch Gunner while I was taking care of his sister in the ICU. He was sweetest boy with most beautiful blue eyes … he was the best baby [and] for him to be taken so soon is so wrong.”
The family was living temporarily at the WakeMed’s Heart Center Inn. The place is a hotel-like space for families who have loved ones receiving care downstairs in the hospital.
According to the mother Savannah Bliss, nursing staff said the injuries Gunner had indicated that he had been shaken vigorously by his father.
The staff told Savannah Bliss that Gunner had no external injuries or any broken bones, but that the infant had suffered from head trauma, in particular brain bleeding and swelling which deprived him of oxygen.
