SAN JOSE — Ending a short life allegedly marked by horrible violence at the hands of her father, a convicted child abuser, six-week-old baby Mila died Friday, leaving shell-shocked officials to agonize that nothing could be done to save her.
Matthew Zabala, 32, of San Jose, — who authorities say conceded he had been “rough” in handling Mila — was arraigned Friday on charges he brutally assaulted and murdered his infant daughter. He was also charged with domestic violence after investigators contend he routinely “punched, slapped, choked and pushed” the child’s mother throughout their five-year relationship.
But officials said there were no reports of the child abuse to law enforcement or child-protective agencies until Mila was brought to Valley Medical Center on Sunday. Nor, they believe, had any domestic violence been reported, although they are continuing to search for evidence of previous police calls from the couple’s home.
Zabala’s relationship with Mila’s mother began around the time he was serving a sentence for abusing another daughter he fathered with a different woman. Authorities and court records show that after a 2010 child-abuse conviction, Zabala was subjected to seven months of electronic monitoring — wearing an ankle bracelet — and was given four years of probation.
During his arraignment Friday, Zabala was kept in an exterior hallway out of view from the courtroom, where he did not enter a plea. He was sent back to the Santa Clara County jail by Judge Shelyna Brown on $1 million bail, and is scheduled to return to court Sept. 1.
After the brief hearing, Deputy District Attorney Stacey Capps pledged to “get some sense of justice for Baby Mila.”
“This is one of the worst scenarios that can happen in a domestic abuse case,” Capps said. “This is one of the most devastating cases you can work on as prosecutor.”
According to a police statement of facts, authorities began to suspect abuse when Mila was rushed to VMC on Sunday in cardiac arrest, and medical staff worked in vain to save her, but estimated that by the time she was brought in, she had not been breathing for at least 30 minutes and showed no brain activity.
Adding to their horror, X-rays and an MRI showed multiple fractures all over Mila’s body, including her skull, and varied stages of healing indicated evidence of steady abuse in Mila’s short life. Another examination found that Mila’s head injury was not an accident and “was the result of intentional crushing of the skull.”
Soon afterward, the hospital alerted authorities who launched an investigation by homicide detectives, child abuse detectives and crime scene investigators. They went to the child’s home on Boston Avenue in the unincorporated Burbank area of San Jose, and interviewed her parents, Zabala and the child’s mother, whose identity was listed as “Jane Doe” because she is being treated as another victim.
Doe reportedly told investigators that she and Zabala lived together and had been dating for five years, and chronicled a “long history” domestic violence by Zabala. In fact, during the interview detectives spotted bruising along her jawline, which she said was caused two weeks earlier when Zabala grabbed her face.
Doe told detectives that Zabala had been “too rough” when handling the infant, and Zabala himself reportedly acknowledged that claim to detectives. He also reportedly admitted that the day before Mila was brought to the hospital, he had “ripped” the baby from a car seat “because he was frustrated,” which authorities say caused the baby’s skull fracture when her head hit the seat’s carry handle.
The next day, Doe said she was in another room from Mila when she heard the baby cry a “blood curdling scream,” and rushed over to find that she was not conscious or breathing, and called 911. Mila died early Friday morning.
No one answered the door at Zabala’s apartment on Boston Avenue on Friday, just north of a heavily commercial area on West San Carlos Street. The blinds to the second-floor unit were all shut, and a few pairs of little boys’ shoes sat at the front door.
One man, who identified himself only as “Alex,” said he would often see Zabala and his children in the afternoons, but that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Zabala has two other children outside of his most recent relationship. One of those children was the victim in the 2010 case.
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said Zabala’s arrest was “shocking and depressing.” The woman, who recently moved into the neighborhood, said she rarely saw the family.
“They pretty much just kept to themselves,” she said.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the VMC Foundation are raising funds to pay for the baby’s funeral service. All funds raised in excess of funeral costs will be donated to the foundation to benefit the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit. Donations can be made online at gofundme.com/2f6sugng.
Staff writer Tatiana Sanchez contributed to this report. Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.
