Inset: Oliver Young (Huntington County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Indiana hospital where Young's son died (Google Maps).
A 24-year-old father in Indiana is accused of fatally abusing his newborn son, yelling at the infant to "shut the fâ up" before searching online for ways to defeat a lie-detector test and prepare for a long prison stint.
Oliver Clayton Lee Young was taken into custody last week and charged with one count each of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, aggravated battery of a person under 14, and domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, records show.
The investigation into Young began when a family case manager contacted Huntington City Police on Oct. 17, 2025, to file a report regarding a baby who had been admitted to Parkview Huntington Hospital with suspicious injuries that appeared to be non-accidental, Fort Wayne ABC and NBC affiliate WPTA reported.
A pediatrician seeing the infant for a regular checkup had instructed Young and the mother to take the baby to the emergency room after spotting a strange bruise on his back. The mother reportedly claimed the bruise was likely the result of her son rolling over onto his pacifier, but the doctor said that was unlikely as the newborn was only a few weeks old. The baby had also suffered a blood spot on his eye.
Further testing revealed the baby likely suffered a brain bleed. He was transported to Riley Children's Hospital, reportedly in critical condition.
While being treated at Riley, the mark on the infant's back faded and doctors said it was likely a "Mongolian mark," a common birthmark that typically fades in a few years, Fort Wayne CBS affiliate WANE reported.
Just over a week later, on Oct. 29, 2025, the victim's mother called 911 after finding her son unresponsive. Medics rushed the infant to the hospital where doctors reportedly said he had suffered severe head trauma, internal bleeding, and exhibited "virtually no brain activity," according to WPTA.
The boy was airlifted to Riley Children's Hospital for the second time that month. Doctors found that the baby had suffered a fractured femur that was already healing and several fractured ribs due to non-accidental trauma. The medical staff concluded that the child's injuries were likely caused by violent shaking or forceful squeezing.
A subsequent autopsy conducted by the Marion County Coroner's Office reportedly determined that the baby's manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was craniocerebral trauma.
A female witness who was in the home when the baby's mother called 911 told police that earlier that morning, she heard Young yell at the baby to "shut the fâ up," WANE reported. The witness added that she saw Young take the crying child into the bathroom several times, reportedly saying she could hear muffled cries coming from inside.
Police performing a forensic search of Young's phone said that on the morning of Oct. 29, he was reading a Quora article titled: "I'm a 22 year old man who's going to prison for 50 years. It will also be my first visit. What advice do people have for me?"
Two days later, he reportedly viewed an article titled: "How to Cheat a Polygraph Test (Lie Detector): 9 Hacks & Prep Tips."
Young's earlier search history had been manually deleted, per WANE.
Young is currently being held in the Huntington County Jail on $150,000 bond, jail records show. He is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a pretrial conference on April 6.