Navy diver charged with murdering his 14-month-old son

The Star Advertiser reports that a Navy diver stationed at Pearl Harbor was charged with murdering his 14-month-old son back in 2009:

A former Navy diver who worked with SEAL commandos at Pearl Harbor has been charged with murdering his 14-month-old son, nearly a year and a half after the boy died from severe brain injury caused by “abusive head trauma,” officials said.

Matthew McVeigh, 26, was charged by the military on Feb. 9 with one charge and two specifications of murder, one charge and two specifications of involuntary manslaughter, and one charge and one specification of assault in the death of Brayden McVeigh, the Navy said.

The Navy refused to provide documents with details of the accusation.

According to relatives and Honolulu medical examiner reports, Brayden had suffered a broken arm at five weeks, and he once had a black eye. Baby sitters had seen bruises on the little boy.

After being placed in foster care with the family of another Navy man, the boy’s sister was allegedly abused by the foster mother. The foster mom was arrested:

But in a disturbing new development, the Honolulu foster mother appointed to care for his sister Brodi, now 4, was investigated for possible abuse of the girl, according to a state Department of Human Services report obtained by the Star-Advertiser.

The foster mother was arrested after admitting that she hit Brodi and the girl was found to have a bloody lip, according to the Feb. 24 DHS report.

Brodi also had other injuries, including swollen fingertips, bruising of her palm, a swollen left hand, a thumb-size bruise on her cheek, a bump on her forehead and a jaw-line bruise, the report states.

The report said the Honolulu Police Department responded on Feb. 19 to the home of the DHS-licensed caretakers for Brodi.

The foster father, who also is in the Navy, was notified in San Diego and immediately flew back to Honolulu, officials said.

Brodi was placed in a “non-relative resource home” on Oahu and “appears to not be thriving due to the circumstances that led to her recent injuries,” the DHS report states.

The Honolulu Star Advertiser initially reported on this case in August 2010.