Lexington man charged with murder in 1-month-old son's death; wife says he didn't do it

A Lexington man was charged with murder Saturday morning in the death of his 1-month-old son, according to court documents, but his wife says he's innocent.

Police said Caz Garrett Hazuga, 22, confessed to killing Caz Hazuga II by banging his head on a kitchen counter multiple times, the documents said. Police were called to Hazuga's house on Henton Road on Thanksgiving on a report of an unresponsive child, and the child was pronounced dead at Saint Joseph Hospital; the cause of death was pending, the coroner's office said.

Hazuga is being held in the Fayette County jail without bail.

Angelina Rushing, the child's mother, said the boy went to sleep around midnight and woke up hungry a couple hours later, and Hazuga got up to give him a bottle.

Hazuga woke Rushing about 2 a.m. and told her their son wasn't moving, she said. They called 911 but became impatient with the dispatcher's questions and took the boy to the hospital themselves, Rushing said.

Rushing described her husband as a gentle man who can't even bring himself to put their 1-year-old daughter in timeout. She said she does not believe he hurt the baby.

"As a father, losing his child in his hands, he already blames himself he didn't do enough," she said.

Rushing said she thinks Hazuga confessed after hours of interrogation to protect her. "As a man, he didn't want them to throw his wife in jail," she said.

This story was originally published November 30, 2013 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Lexington man charged with murder in 1-month-old son's death; wife says he didn't do it."