NJ parents arrested, charged with murder in 3-month-old daughter's death

Parents of a three-month-old girl — who died of, what officials said, were blunt force injuries to her head — have been arrested and charged with causing the child’s death.

On Thursday morning, law enforcement officials in Ocean County, New Jersey, announced the arrests and charging of Ruben Santiago, 36, and Caitlin Gibson, 28, both of Lakewood, NJ, for their alleged roles in the May 6, 2025 death of their three-month-old daughter.

According to police, officers responded to the pair’s home along Pinehurst Drive in Lakewood, at about 7:20 p.m., on Monday, May 5, 2025, on a report of an infant that was unresponsive.

First responders, police said, attempted life-saving techniques and the child was taken to a nearby hospital and then transferred to a pediatric intensive care unit, where the girl was pronounced on May 6, 2025.

An autopsy of the infant uncovered that the girl died of blunt force trauma to the head and, police said, her death was ruled a homicide.

An investigation, police officials claim, determined that the girl’s parents, Santiago and Gibson, were allegedly responsible for the child’s death — though police officials did not provide additional information on what led to the infant’s death.

Both of the girl’s parents were arrested on Wednesday and they are currently in police custody at the Ocean County Jail where, police said, they are awaiting a detention heating.