Milan man accused of seriously hurting baby

Cory A. Gabbard of Milan was arrested recently on a Level 3 Felony Battery charge after his infant son was taken to the hospital for serious injuries on January 1.

According to a Probable Cause Affidavit filed in Ripley Circuit Court on May 1, Gabbard has been accused of causing injuries to the child. Within the document it notes that Gabbard told at least two people that first the infant was accidently hit by another child in the resident with a sippy cup. Then, in all the confusion, Gabbard was holding the baby and tripped over a toy on the floor and fell full weight on the child. Gabbard’s arrest record shows he is nearly 6 feet tall and weighs 220 pounds.

Gabbard lives with the biological mother of the child, Jessica “Katie” Sullivan, who was not at home at the time of the alleged accident, according to court records.

The suspect told police that he is an over the road truck driver and had just come home on December 31, 2024, in the morning hours. He said he went to bed and got up about 10 a.m. and did some laundry. He said “Katie” stayed in Bright with the children and came home around 4 p.m. that day. He said they all got baths, “Katie” fed the children and got them ready for bed about 9 p.m. Later she went to a friend’s house.

Gabbard said on January 1 they woke up with one child upset because her mom wasn’t there and the child swung her cup by the strap/lanyard hitting the baby, who began to scream and cry. He went on with the events of the morning saying he was trying to get ahold of “Katie” but she hadn’t answered. When Gabbard texted “Katie” to let her know the baby wasn’t “acting right” she called him and told him to call 911. The child was transported by EMS to Margaret Mary Hospital in Batesville and then on to Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, OH.

Detectives met with “Katie” at Children’s Hospital on January 3. “Katie” told police she wasn’t home when the incident occurred but rather with a person who was a foster parent to her when she was a juvenile. She told police her and Gabbard had been texting and he was wanting to pick up some suboxone at a place near the Milan Elementary School. She described the amount Gabbard allegedly uses spending about $800 a month.

She told police when the baby was admitted to Children’s Hospital she later asked Gabbard what he had done to the baby. She said he admitted there was something he hadn’t told her and said he tripped over the unicorn, a stuffed animal that was near the door of the bedroom and fell on top of the child with all his weight.

However, Dr. Shanghag with Children’s noted that the non-accidental trauma is not consistent with Gabbard’s explanation of being hit with a sippy cup or being caused by a fall.

Gabbard told Montana Weberding, the mother of a 12-year-old child they share, that it was all an accident and he was sick of people saying he did anything on purpose.

Editor’s Note: Each person arrested has the right to be heard in court. They are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.