McKeesport man accused of shaking baby who later died appears in court Monday

MCKEESPORT, Pa. — A McKeesport father accused of shaking his baby who later died at the hospital appeared in court on Monday.

Last month, Channel 11 was at Harrison Village in McKeesport when police and medics were called. Police say Michael Barber was watching his 5-month-old baby alone and the infant had to be rushed to the hospital because he wasn’t breathing.

The baby, Michael Armstrong, later died at the hospital. His funeral is Tuesday. Barber asked if he could go to the funeral and the judge said yes, reminding him not to have contact with any witnesses in his case.

According to court documents, Barber gave police two stories about what happened. But after detectives told him doctors said the injuries weren’t due to falling, Barber admitted that he shook the baby because “he was frustrated that the child wouldn’t stop crying.”

Barber already faces several charges related to the abuse. We may have to wait until next month to find out if more charges will be filed in connection with the baby’s death because Barber’s preliminary hearing was pushed back to Oct. 31.

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