HUNTINGTON, IN – A 24-year-old Indiana man has been charged in the death of his infant son after investigators discovered he had searched online for tips on how to cheat a lie detector test just days after the child was hospitalized, authorities said.
Oliver Clayton Lee Young was charged with neglect of a dependent, aggravated battery, and domestic battery, all resulting in the death of his weeks-old son. The child was declared brain dead on November 2 at a hospital, and the coroner ruled the death a homicide caused by craniocerebral trauma.
The infant was first hospitalized on October 17 after arriving with unexplained injuries. Doctors discovered a brain bleed along with a healing leg fracture and multiple fractured ribs consistent with non-accidental trauma, according to court documents. The child appeared to stabilize and was eventually discharged.
On October 29, the baby was rushed back to the hospital after being found unresponsive at the family’s home. He never recovered.
Police said that on October 31 — two days after the child’s final hospitalization — Young searched for “How to Cheat a Polygraph Test: 9 Hacks and Prep Tips” on his phone. Investigators found that his phone’s search history had been manually deleted, but they were able to recover the data.
Young and the child’s mother initially blamed hospital staff for the injuries, according to investigators.
Witnesses told police they heard Young telling the crying infant to “shut up” on the morning the child became unresponsive.
Young was booked into the Huntington County Jail with bond set at $150,000. The investigation remains ongoing.
