The father of a 3-month-old baby has been arrested and charged with her murder. Damion Comager, who lives in New York, is alleged to have shaken baby Genevieve until she died. Comager allegedly told the baby’s grandfather that he shook her because she wouldn’t stop crying. He then dumped her body on the side of the Major Deegan Expressway. She was found in the woods near a pedestrian overpass in the Highbridge section of the highway.
The baby’s mother, 20-year-old Ivana Paolozzi, originally from Switzerland, was charged with concealment of a human corpse and obstructing governmental administration. While the official cause of death has not yet been determined, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has declared the baby’s death a homicide.
The incident allegedly took place on May 14th. Comager, from Louisiana, is said to have shaken the baby to death and then panicked when he realized what he’d done. He put the infant in a bag and left her by the expressway. He then telephoned his father to tell him what happened. His father subsequently confessed what he knew to a local priest, who encouraged him to report the matter to law enforcement.
Comager met Paolozzi while traveling in Switzerland and the couple moved to New York City together last December. Genevieve was born in February.
Damion Comager had a history of mental illness, as well as a criminal arrest record in his home state Louisiana. His father said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia as a child. The 23-year-old was arrested numerous times in the Pelican State for assault, criminal impersonation, and domestic violence.
Comager told his father he was sorry for what he’d done and that he loved his daughter. Donald Comager said he turned his son over to authorities because he knew he had “to do the right thing.” He told reporters, “I’m hurting. I want everyone to know my son loves his daughter.”
