Severely beaten 2-month-old is off life support, smiling, mom says. Kentucky dad is in jail.

A severely beaten 2-month-old is off life support, smiling, moving and making noises, his mother said this week.

The baby’s father, Donnie Rowe, 28, of Louisville, is accused of inflicting the multiple skull fractures and retinal hemorrhages that made the child’s condition so grave when he began receiving treatment June 8, according to court records.

The baby, Bryson Rowe, has improved at Norton Children’s Hospital, his mother, Tabitha Reinhardt, told WHAS11.

“He’s smiling, he’s making noises, he’s moving and he’s a very strong little boy,” Reinhardt told the station. “I’m excited, I mean it helps because it gives me hope that my son will get through it.”

A gofundme page set up for the baby and his mother said the child was moved from intensive care to a regular room, a positive sign.

But his recovery will take time and the extent of lasting damage is unclear, Reinhardt told WDRB. “They said that we have a long road ahead of us.”

Bryson held his head up for the first time Wednesday, she told WDRB. She told WHAS 11 that “some parts of Bryson’s brain” are dead but a doctor told her it’s possible the 2-month-old’s brain can change with a good outcome.

The mother told WDRB and WHAS that she was working the night Bryson was gravely injured.

Donnie Rowe allegedly admitted to police he hurt the child, according to court records. He was charged with assault and criminal abuse.

He has pleaded not guilty.

This story was originally published June 21, 2019 at 11:29 AM.