Medical findings cited in an arrest warrant became central to the case against a Connecticut father whose 2-week-old son died.

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. — A Connecticut father charged with murder in the death of his 2-week-old son told investigators the baby fell from his arms after he fell asleep on a couch, but doctors said the severe injuries they found were not consistent with such a short fall, according to an arrest warrant and police accounts.

Dean R. Peruta, 40, faces charges of murder, murder of a victim under 16 and risk of injury to a child in connection with the infant’s December 2025 death. The case developed around a sharp divide between Peruta’s description of an accidental fall and medical findings that investigators said pointed to inflicted trauma. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later determined that the infant died from blunt-force injury to the head and classified the death as a homicide, according to the warrant. A homicide ruling describes the manner of death and does not by itself establish criminal guilt.

The investigation began Dec. 21, 2025, after emergency personnel responded to a Church Street home in Willimantic for an unresponsive infant. The baby was taken first to Windham Hospital and then flown by LifeStar helicopter to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center because of the seriousness of his condition. Emergency responders reported bruising on both sides of the child’s head, and the warrant described other signs of significant injury. At the children’s hospital, doctors identified swelling near the left ear, bleeding inside the brain, a fracture on the left side of the skull and a stroke. The child required life support and was not breathing independently, according to reports based on the warrant.

Medical personnel quickly questioned whether a household fall could account for what they were seeing. A physician told investigators that the injuries showed signs of inflicted, nonaccidental trauma, according to WFSB’s account of the warrant. A paramedic who accompanied the baby during the transfer also told police that a trauma doctor considered the injuries inconsistent with a fall of about 3 feet. Other medical information cited by investigators included retinal hemorrhages and the absence of brain-stem reflexes. Doctors described the overall findings as consistent with abusive head trauma, according to the warrant.

Peruta gave police a different explanation. He said he had taken the newborn downstairs at about 3 a.m. for a feeding, then sat on a couch while holding him. Peruta told detectives he fell asleep and later woke after hearing the baby crying on the floor near his feet. He said the child stopped crying after being picked up and initially appeared to recover. Peruta told investigators that he was not immediately alarmed because the infant appeared normal enough afterward to have a routine diaper change. Investigators, however, continued examining whether that account fit the medical evidence.

The warrant also describes a delay before emergency help was sought. Peruta said he did not immediately tell the baby’s mother about the reported fall because he was afraid and did not think the infant had suffered a serious injury. According to reports on the warrant, he first told her the night had passed without a significant problem. When she later confronted him after noticing bruising, he acknowledged that the baby had fallen. Investigators also alleged that Peruta initially argued against calling 911. Those details became part of the police inquiry into what happened between the overnight feeding and the child’s hospitalization.

The newborn’s condition worsened despite treatment. Medical staff determined that he had lost brain function, and life-sustaining treatment was eventually withdrawn. The infant was pronounced dead Dec. 27, six days after authorities became involved. The medical examiner later listed blunt-force head injury as the cause of death and homicide as the manner. Investigators continued working with medical personnel for months before police obtained the warrant charging Peruta in September. Authorities have not publicly established through a trial exactly how the fatal injury occurred, and the allegations in the warrant remain accusations that prosecutors would have to prove in court.

Investigators also examined statements Peruta allegedly made about disciplining children. His former wife provided police with an audio recording from the period when they were married, according to the warrant. Reports on the recording say Peruta discussed using physical punishment to make children fear a parent and argued that discipline could involve psychologically or physically scaring a child to maintain control. Police separately wrote that Peruta acknowledged previously striking his daughter in the back of the head and compared his disciplinary approach to beating a dog in the course of house training it. Those statements are allegations contained in the investigative record, not proof that they establish what happened to the newborn.

Peruta also told investigators that he had consumed alcohol on the night the baby was injured. According to the warrant, he characterized the amount as normal for him and denied being an alcoholic. Police questioned him about the circumstances surrounding the baby’s injuries more than once as medical evidence accumulated. In one interview cited in news reports, Peruta expressed regret and said there was no excuse. Authorities nevertheless concluded after the extended investigation that there was probable cause to seek homicide charges. The warrant was issued Sept. 10 and served five days later at Danielson Superior Court.

By then, Peruta was already in custody in a separate criminal case. Willimantic police said officers responded May 4 to a residence after a third party reported that a woman known to Peruta was being threatened. Police said officers heard the woman calling for help before making an emergency entry. Authorities accused Peruta of entering without permission and assaulting her. He was charged in that matter with attempted murder, home invasion, second-degree assault, violating a restraining order, first-degree strangulation or suffocation, first-degree unlawful restraint, first-degree reckless endangerment and threatening. Those charges are separate allegations and also have not been proven at trial.

The separate cases converged procedurally in September, when police served the infant-death warrant while Peruta was appearing in Danielson Superior Court. A judge set a $2 million cash or surety bond in the homicide case. Separate reporting on court records indicated that he also faced additional bonds connected with the May case and alleged protective-order violations. The murder case therefore entered court months after the infant’s death, following an investigation that relied heavily on medical records, the autopsy and statements investigators collected from Peruta and others.

The central question now moves from the police investigation to the criminal court process. Prosecutors have charged Peruta with intentionally causing the death, while the public record reviewed so far largely describes the evidence through an arrest warrant rather than testimony tested at trial. Peruta is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Court records cited in September reports listed his next appearance in Danielson Superior Court for Nov. 17, 2026.

Author note: Last updated November 6, 2026.