Father Of Eight-Day-Old Girl Faces Trial For Baby’S Injuries Doctors Say Infant Was Victim Of ‘Shaken Impact Syndrome’

Frank Chilberg was preparing his 8-day-old daughter for family pictures three days before Christmas.

The 30-year-old father of three had planned to feed her, change her diaper and dress her, but Nicole Noel Chilberg started fussing.

Moments later, the infant stopped breathing.

Chilberg told police his 2-year-old son had hit Nicole in the forehead with a plastic toy earlier on Dec. 22, apparently causing her injuries, Coeur d’Alene police Det. Steve Childers said Friday.

A day after the girl was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at a Spokane hospital, Chilberg told his 24-year-old wife, Elizabeth Fanshier, a different version.

“He said that, `I hurt Nicole,”’ Fanshier said, recalling an emotional conversation the couple had in a hospital waiting room.

First District Court Magistrate Barbara Buchanan ordered Chilberg on Friday to stand trial on a charge of felony injury to a child.

Chilberg remained in the Kootenai County Jail - where he has been held since Christmas Eve - in lieu of a $10,000 bail.

Nicole’s injuries included a fractured skull and bruises on her head, body and leg, leading Sacred Heart Medical Center doctors to conclude she was the victim of “shaken impact syndrome,” said Dr. Peter Graves, a pediatric intensive care specialist. Medical tests also showed Nicole’s brain was bleeding, he said.

“It’s not possible that a 1- or 2-year-old child could produce enough force necessary to cause this type of brain injury,” Graves said.

Chilberg and Fanshier, who have been married about a year, also have a 1-year-old daughter.

Fanshier, who frequently glanced at her attorney while testifying during her husband’s preliminary hearing, said she and the couple’s two oldest children were in the bathroom while Chilberg got Nicole ready in another room. She heard Nicole fussing, but did not think it unusual of the newborn.

Then Chilberg, who reportedly told police he had cared for his daughter since about 7 a.m., told Fanshier there was something wrong with Nicole.

“Her mouth was open,” said Fanshier, who has not been charged with a crime.

“She wasn’t breathing. She looked almost lifeless.”

Both Chilberg and Fanshier tried rescue breathing on their daughter. She started breathing again before paramedics arrived.

Nicole spent two weeks recovering at Sacred Heart.

Graves said it is too early to tell how Nicole’s injuries will affect her neurological development.

Lynn Nelson, chief deputy public defender, called no witnesses Friday and offered no argument.

IN JAIL Frank Chilberg is in the Kootenai County Jail - where he has been held since Christmas Eve - in lieu of a $10,000 bail. He faces a charge of felony injury to a child.