A young father bound a blanket around his 2-month-old baby's chest so tightly that the infant couldn't breathe, contributing to the death of a boy who suffered many injuries in his brief life, according to charges filed in Scott County.

Joshua S. Sundblad, of Belle Plaine, was charged last week with third-degree murder in the May 9 death of Carson Scott Bosquez Sundblad in the home of the mother's parents. The father was arrested Friday and remains jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail ahead of a court appearance ­Friday.

According to the criminal complaint:

Sundblad calmly directed a police officer and a firefighter late that afternoon to Carson, positioned on his back atop a chest of drawers in a downstairs bedroom. His sobbing mother, Brittney Bosquez, stood next to her baby and peered into the boy's mouth.

Carson was taken to a Minneapolis hospital and died nearly six hours later.

Bosquez told police she left work on a break and saw Sundblad in bed with Carson, and the baby appeared purple. She said they picked up Carson and he was limp and also unresponsive to other efforts to rouse the boy.

Sundblad

An autopsy by the Hennepin County medical examiner found many injuries, among them a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain that appeared to have happened some time ago, recent and not so recent rib fractures, and a broken wrist.

Under questioning in late July and early August, Sundblad cited accidents in explaining some of the injuries but could not explain the skull fractures. He said he either fell while holding Carson, held him too tightly while changing his son's diaper or accidentally banged the boy's head on a door frame.

Sunblad said he "was not in a good mood" on the day of Carson's death and placed the boy on the changing table "in a firm or aggressive way," the complaint read. He added that the baby's head hit the edge of the table.

After changing Carson's diaper, he wrapped the crying baby "so tight that he could not breathe," the complaint continued. He said Carson stopped crying after about five minutes.

Sundblad said the wrap did not cover the baby's mouth; the mother said it did.

The cause of death was head injuries and a "compromised sleeping position," the complaint said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482