2-month-old allegedly beaten by father is off life support and improving

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An infant who was beaten and on life-support is making a remarkable recovery.

Bryson Rowe, just 2 months old, was on life-support for several days. Earlier this month, he was rushed to the hospital by his parents, Donnie Rowe and and Tabitha Reinhardt.

"All I was told is that my son was not opening his eyes," Tabitha Reinhardt said. "He wasn't eating."

Reinhardt said it started with a phone call at work from Rowe.

"I told my ex that if something should happen, if he gets worse or anything, call 911," she said.

Reinhardt said after several phone calls, she felt confident their newborn was OK.

"I asked him 100 different times that night, before I got home, 'Do we need to go to the hospital? I got a ride, yes or no. Tell me now,'" she said. "And he told me, 'No, everything was OK.'"

But by the next day, Reinhardt was concerned enough to call the doctor.

"The doctor told me they were a little concerned but not to rush him in the ambulance, just get him to the hospital," she said.

While preparing to leave the family's mobile home on Taylor Boulevard, the infant's behavior was not the only concern or red flag.

"I was putting him in my parent's car, and I noticed a bruise on my child's head," Reinhardt said.

At Norton Children's Hospital, Reinhardt said there were more questions and concerns but no answers from Rowe.

"They're changing him, and there's a bruise on his butt," Reinhardt said. "And I'm like, OK, really, now what is going on?"

Just a few days after the child was admitted to the hospital, the couple was questioned by LMPD detectives. After several hours, Reinhardt said, she was released and Rowe was not.

"They eventually came in and told me that they were going to keep him," she said. "They arrested him, because he confessed to harming him."

By then, 2-month old Bryson was on life support.

Since then, Rowe has been held at Metro Corrections on a $500,000 cash bond, and on Thursday, he was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury.

Rowe's charges include first-degree assault, first-degree criminal abuse and persistent felony offender in the second degree. Rowe has also been ordered to have no contact with Reinhardt or their child.

"They said that we have a long road ahead of us," Reinhardt said.

Meanwhile, despite the road ahead, Bryson is improving.

"He will smile when he hears anyone's familiar voice," Reinhardt said. "(Wednesday), I was holding him, and he actually held his head up for the first time since this happened. So he's a fighter."

Reinhardt has two other children to support and returned to work Thursday, but a family member set up a GoFundMe page to help make up for the time she was away from the job.

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