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Aaron Medrano, 27, initially was charged with aggravated assault and released on Dec. 30, 2021, a week after the child was brought to Hackensack University Medical Center with several injuries.
Baby Giovanna died last Wednesday, Jan. 5, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Medrano was re-arrested on Tuesday, this time on first-degree murder charges, the prosecutor said.
He was in custody Wednesday at New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, records show.
The baby’s mother, Patricia Artese, 25, remains free on child endangerment charges.
Baby Giovanna wasn’t breathing when police were called to the unemployed couple’s second-floor apartment in a two-family house on Schuyler Avenue near Noel Drive on Dec. 23, Musella said.
Members of his Major Crimes Unit were contacted by the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency “regarding numerous injuries which were discovered on the child by medical personnel at HUMC,” the prosecutor said.
A joint investigation with North Arlington revealed that Aaron Medrano caused the injuries, he said.
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