A Florida 5-month-old has died after police say his babysitter grew frustrated and forcefully threw him into his playpen.
Barbara Kendrick, 65, was initially charged with aggravated child abuse when the infant was hospitalized with a fractured skull. After Cooper Dubovik died in the hospital, the charge was upgraded to murder, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Cooper’s parents were working on Tuesday morning, so they left Cooper at Kendrick’s house, according to the sheriff’s office. Kendrick had been the family’s regular babysitter for about a month.
In a Tuesday evening news conference, Sgt. Jay Farhat said Kendrick confessed to forcefully throwing the baby into his Pack ‘n Play because he had been fussy while teething. She called 911 around 2:15 p.m.
“It appears she got a little frustrated at some point, and lost her temper,” Farhat told reporters. He alleged that Kendrick had originally dodged questions but eventually confessed to throwing the baby.
Kendrick is a distant relative of the family. “There is no blood relation, but we believe they are somehow related through marriage,” Farhat told reporters. “One of her relatives is married to one of the father’s relatives.”
According to charging information obtained by PEOPLE, Kendrick is behind bars on felony murder charges. She is being held without bond. It’s unclear if she has retained an attorney.
“Cooper was a beautiful baby and well loved by his parents,” a family friend, Jonathan Daugherty, wrote on a GoFundMe set up for the family. “This is truly a tragedy for this young married couple.”