'Baby Daniel's' Parents Waive Right To Appear

GALLATIN, Tenn. -- The parents of a baby who police said was beaten into a coma both waived their right to appear at a court hearing on Wednesday.

Thomas Snelling waived his right to appear in a Gallatin court, and the 11-month-old baby's mother did so as well.

Police said the baby, whom they nicknamed Baby Daniel, was beaten against the bottom of his bassinet so severely that the bassinet cracked.

"Three times, he slammed the baby's face, grabbed the baby by the face in the back of the head and into that bassinet, which we believe here is what broke the bottom of the bassinet," said Richard Smith of the Portland Police Department after the incident.

The baby's condition brought tears to the eyes of officers who responded to a 911 call that Snelling made to report that his baby had stopped breathing.

Police said they didn't know at the time of the call that the toddler was hit by his father in a fit of rage because he was crying. Police said that when they confronted Snelling, he confessed.

Responding officers said the child was probably crying because he was hungry. They said the milk in his crib had turned rancid, and officers found the baby turning blue.

Police said that Baby Daniel wasn't the only abuse victim; officers said they found four other children in the house -- ages 3 to 10 -- hungry and poorly clothed.

Snelling is charged with aggravated child abuse, and the boy's mother is charged with child neglect. If Baby Daniel dies, Snelling will be charged with felony murder through aggravated child abuse, police said.

The other children were placed in Department of Children's Services care.

The 11-month-old remains in Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital while his parents are in the Sumner County Jail.