An 18-year-old (age corrected) St. Joseph man is facing a felony on accusations of causing serious injuries to his six-week-old baby.

Skyler Kretzer is charged in Buchanan County with a felony of abuse of a child.

According to court documents, witness statements accuse Kretzer of squeezing the baby out of anger and throwing the infant into the air three to four feet and then catching her. Det. Dustin Robinson with the St. Joseph Police Department said witness statements claim the child’s head snaps when thrown and a pop has been heard when Kretzer squeezed the baby.

Det. Robinson said the 6-week-old girl has been to the emergency room six times in those six weeks. The infant was diagnosed with four healing rib fractures, a possible fracture of the right femur, retinal hemorrhages and bruises on the right lower leg and upper left arm.

“Children’s Mercy has diagnosed the injuries to stem from physical child abuse on multiple occasions,” Robinson said. “According to witness statements, Kretzer is under a lot of stress and has anger management issues.”

Based on the probable cause statement, the court found Kretzer to be a danger to the victim and denied the setting of bail. An arraignment is scheduled for Friday.