DENVER — A father is being charged with attempted murder after his 5-year-old son was critically injured in an incident along the Cherry Creek Trail in southeast Denver on Jan. 12, according to the Denver Police Department (DPD).
The Denver District Attorney's Office said Michael Ninomiya, 42, was charged with the following:
- First-degree attempted murder
- Attempted murder - victim under the age of 12 and being in a position of trust
- Attempted child abuse resulting in death
- Child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury
- Two sentencing enhancement charges for a violent crime with serious bodily injury or death
The child remains in critical condition at Colorado Children's Hospital, according to the district attorney's office. Police said he suffered a life-threatening head injury.
> Video above from Thursday: Father arrested after child critically injured along Cherry Creek trail
Police said around 4:15 p.m. Jan. 12, Ninomiya called 911 to report an incident along the Cherry Creek Trail. The details of that call were redacted in an arrest affidavit released Wednesday.
Firefighters found Ninomiya and his son in a fenced-off drainage culvert along the High Line Canal near Boston Street and Cornell Avenue, according to the affidavit. The boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and Ninomiya was taken to the hospital to be treated for a cut to his forehead.
The Denver Fire Department told 9NEWS at the time that a child had fallen through thin ice, and their father had attempted to pull them from the water. The child was unresponsive when first pulled from the water, firefighters said.
PREVIOUS: Father pulls 5-year-old from water after child falls through thin ice near Cherry Creek trail
"As the court I'm sure is well aware from reading the affidavit for the arrest warrant, the defendant has given essentially a full confession to intentionally trying to kill the victim in this case," prosecutor Danielle Robinson said during his first court appearance on Thursday.
In investigating the incident, officers interviewed both Ninomiya and the boy's mother, according to the affidavit. The mother told police she had been with Ninomiya for nine years and married to him for eight. She said she had no concerns when Ninomiya and the boy left for a hike. She told police she would never have let Ninomiya leave with the child if she had thought he would hurt him, according to the affidavit.
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