Thursday, 4:30 PM
Man charged with slashing baby girl in neck, shoulder
By John R. Ellement and April Yee, Globe Staff
A 3-month-old baby girl is recovering from slash wounds to her neck and shoulder after police said a 31-year-old man stabbed her early this morning in her Dorchester apartment.
The infant, whose name was not released by police, was attacked around 1 a.m. in a third-floor apartment on Maxwell street, according to Boston police and a neighbor. Police identified the suspect as Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty to mayhem and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Dorchester Municipal Court. He had been released from prison earlier this year and was temporarily staying with the mother, authorities said.
The child's mother, speaking briefly with reporters at the courthouse, said the baby is OK.
According to police and a neighbor, Vaughn, the baby's mother and five other people were having a party in their apartment and about a handful of people were gathered in the mother's kitchen. Around 1 a.m., Vaughn allegedly went into a bedroom and emerged holding the infant, prompting the mother to ask him what he was doing with her child. She then checked the child and saw blood on her.
"She went berserk when she found out her baby was bleeding,'' said a neighbor who asked not to be identified by name because of the ongoing criminal investigation. The neighbor overheard the mother shouting, "Oh my God! My baby is going to die! Why did you do this?''
The neighbor said Vaughn repeatedly denied harming the child and made no attempt to avoid police. Police said they arrested Vaughn after other people identified him as the child's attacker.
A motive was not immediately clear.
The child was rushed to Boston Medical Center where authorities described her injuries as serious but not life threatening.
