Child minutes away from death after abuse, according to Nassau County arrest report

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — A man was arrested Wednesday after a 6-year-old boy was brought to the hospital because he was not responsive, deputies say.

Michael Shiver, 27, is charged with aggravated child abuse, according to a Nassau County Sheriff's Office arrest report.

In the report, Shiver told deputies the boy was running and playing when he fell and hit his head on the bumper of a car. Shiver told deputies the child continued to play then went inside to nap. A short time later, Shiver went in to check on the child and found him unresponsive, according to the report.

The report said there was bruising all over the child's body, including the child's face, ear, pelvis, abdomen, back, thighs, buttocks and shoulders.

The doctor who treated the child told a deputy the bruising on the child's body was consistent with repeated blunt force trauma and not with a fall. The doctor also told the deputy that the child's head injury was consistent with being punched in the face and having his head shaken, not falling and striking his head.

In the report, the doctor also told the deputy that if another 30 minutes had passed before the child received medical attention, he would have died.

The child's mother said her child had none of the injures the night before and that she did not see how the child was injured, but was told by Shiver that the child fell and hit his head, according to the report.

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The mother told the deputy that Shiver did spank the child and was making the child run as punishment for misbehaving, according to the report.

The deputy said Shiver was arrested for aggravated child abuse after the investigation revealed the child received life-threatening injuries that, according to doctors, were caused by egregious physical abuse. The deputy added that the mother and Shiver's statements were inconsistent, but there was agreement Shiver was alone with the child when the injuries occurred.