He Shook His 3-Month-Old in 2012 — Now He’s Charged with Murder After Boy Died Last Year By Christina Coulter

More than a decade after a Pennsylvania infant was hospitalized with severe head trauma — and lived until his 2024 death — his father is now charged with murder.

Kyle Hinkle, 38, of Allentown, was charged with third-degree murder after investigators reviewed an autopsy that tied his 11-year-old son’s 2024 death to injuries the child suffered as a 3-month-old in 2012, according to a news release from the Bensalem Township Police Department.

Police said the boy was born in July 2012 and was living in Bensalem when, on Oct. 12 of that year, Bucks County Children and Youth contacted the department. Medical staff at then-Aria Torresdale Hospital — now Jefferson Torresdale Hospital — had reported that the infant had bleeding in the brain and retinal hemorrhages.

A CAT scan revealed both new and old injuries in various stages of healing, and a Child Protection Program doctor later determined the injuries were inflicted and caused by “significant force consistent with abusive head trauma,” per the release.

The infant was transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit, police said. According to the release, Hinkle later admitted he shook his son multiple times that morning because he could not stop the crying and did so without supporting the infant’s head.

Hinkle was charged in 2012 with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children and simple assault. He pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to two years in county prison, followed by three years of supervised parole and probation, per the department.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

On Aug. 14, 2024, Bensalem police were notified by Pennsylvania State Police that the victim from the 2012 case had died in Oliver, Pa., at age 11. An autopsy conducted in Westmoreland County determined the cause of death was complications of blunt force trauma to the head and neck resulting from the 2012 abuse, according to the release.

Based on the autopsy and the original investigation, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office approved additional charges. Police said District Justice Michael Gallagher issued a warrant for third-degree murder on Nov. 24, 2025, and Bensalem officers, with help from Allentown police, arrested Hinkle at his workplace in Allentown.

Hinkle was arraigned by Gallagher and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of $2 million bail, per the release.

It’s unclear if Hinkle has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.