Father Charged with Murder in Apple Valley Infant Abuse Case

APPLE VALLEY (AP) -- A Minnesota man has been charged with murder after authorities say he inflicted life-threatening injuries on his newborn son, who later died.

Thirty-two-year-old Michael Herkal was charged Thursday with three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the Aug. 14 death of Anthony, who was just two weeks old when he was injured in Apple Valley.

Herkal was initially charged last week with assault. His attorney, Eric Olson, had no comment Thursday, saying it was early in the case and he hasn't seen all the evidence.

A criminal complaint says Anthony was 13 days old when he was injured on Aug. 12. The complaint says he suffered bleeding on the brain and several injuries consistent with abuse. He died two days later. An autopsy found he had two skull fractures.