Baby severely brain damaged after assault

By ERICA JAHN

Staff writer

King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng has filed first-degree assault of a child charges against a Federal Way man who was arrested last month on suspicion of shaking his infant daughter and leaving her severely brain damaged.

Osamu Noel Abraham, 29, is scheduled to be arraigned in King County Superior Court Feb. 20. He is being held at the Regional Justice Center in Kent on $250,000 bail.

Abraham’s sister told police that on the morning of Jan. 14, Linette Tulensru, who was born last July, was awake, active and playful.

That day, she watched the baby and two other small children while Abraham slept in the bedroom, she said. Later, she and the other children laid down on a mattress in the living room to take a nap. When she awoke, Linette was gone.

According to charging papers, Abraham confessed to his wife he couldn’t sleep because the baby was crying. He said he tried to comfort her with a pacifier, but when she didn’t stop, he lost his temper and shook her until she was quiet.

His sister said he came out of the bedroom and laid Linette down in the living room, told her to watch the baby and left for work.

His wife came home from work about an hour after he left and found the baby unconscious and unresponsive, according to charging papers.

Linette initially was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, but she was later transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for trauma treatment.

Medical personnel at Harborview said the injuries to Linette’s head were consistent with a fall from at least a two-story building onto concrete or a high-velocity car crash, according to authorities.

On Jan. 15, Child Protective Services notified Federal Way Police that an infant female was admitted with severe brain damage. Police contacted Abraham’s wife at the hospital.

Linette suffered a massive subdural hematoma to the left side of her brain, according to medical staff, and subsequent examination revealed she is now blind and requires a feeding tube, according to charging papers. She remains in a coma.

Police arrested Abraham at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as he was about to board an international flight to Micronesia. His wife told detectives he was leaving because he was afraid police were going to arrest him for hurting the baby.

Staff writer Erica Jahn: 925-5565 and ejahn@fedwaymirror.com

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