Police: Abused Infant Left with Seven Broken Bones

Police arrested a young Brookline couple last week after doctors reported that their two-month-old baby had been brought in for a series of unexplained bone fractures.

James Nirenberg, 21, and Rebecca Schneider, 20, were arrested at their VFW Parkway home on Feb. 24 and charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and battery on a child under 14 and once count each of reckless endangerment of a child. The couple was released on $5,000 cash bail, according to a police report.

Pediatricians at Children’s Hospital Boston told police that Schneider most recently brought the baby into the emergency room on the afternoon of Feb. 22 and reported that she had heard a “pop” while Nirenberg was playing with the baby’s leg the nights before. She said the baby was “fussy for a while,” but eventually quieted down and went to sleep, according to a police report.

Doctors found that the baby had suffered a total of seven fractures over the previous three to six weeks, some of them already healing. One pediatrician who specializes in child abuse told police that there were “no reasonable explanations for these types of fractures on a two month old baby” and said she didn’t think the child had any sort of brittle bone disease.

Doctors reported that the baby had fractures to the shoulder blade, arm, toe and two fingers, as well as the two new fractures on the leg. A doctor told police that one of the fractures, found at the base of the finger, is typically caused when the finger is pushed back toward the top of the hand.

Doctors said they were also concerned about the mental health of the parents and said they planned to refer Schneider for psychological care. Both parents initially declined to speak with police, according to the arrest report.