North Carolina mother 'tried to kill her three-month-old son by squeezing his skull until his eyes bulged'

A North Carolina mother has been arrested for trying to murder her baby by squeezing his skull.

Amanda Frances Hughes was taken into custody in Fayetteville, North Carolina along with the baby's father and grandmother. 

On March 12, police say Hughes, 31, squeezed the three-month-old's skull so hard that it fractured. The infant suffered fluid in the brain as a result.

She was not taken into custody straight away and the baby was given to Alfie Champagne, its father, and Hughes' mother Mary.

In April, a second incident of abuse occurred which involved all three, Fayetteville Police Department said.

Police also charged the child’s father, Alfie Dion Champagne, 48, and grandmother, Mary Hughes, 63, with two counts of abuse by neglect, according to WRAL.

Cumberland County DA Billy West said the charges are so egregious, he wanted high bonds for the parents to keep them from fleeing if they are sprung from jail before trial.

“We’re dealing with a child that was 3 to 6 months old and the most helpless in our society,” West said. “We’ve got to do what we can to get justice in the case and get to the bottom of these allegations, but they’re very disturbing.”

District Court Judge Ed Pone raised the mom’s bond from $250,000 to $550,000 and Champagne’s bond from $50,000 to $400,000. Mary Hughes was released on $10,000 bond.

The first incident was alleged to have occurred on March 12, when Amanda Hughes squeezed the baby’s head as hard as she could, causing the child to suffer fluid on the brain and a skull fracture.

The second incident occurred on April 23, officials said, after the child was in the custody of Champagne and Mary Hughes, and was staying at the grandmother’s home.

“The allegation is that, in April, after they had custody, that there was another period of abuse where the mother had access to the child and the opportunity to abuse the child,” West said.

“Further injuries were alleged to have happened to the child on that occasion, and medical attention was not sought.”

The injuries were discovered May 1 when a foster caregiver noticed the baby suffering seizures and took him to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

Hospital officials found the injuries and notified authorities, WRAL reported.