A Twentynine Palms Marine was arraigned in Joshua Tree Superior Court Wednesday, accused of killing his 5-week-old son. According to Sheriff and witness reports, shortly before 11 a.m. on April 8, 9-1-1 received a call of a baby not breathing. Corporal Zachary Brendemuhl, 26, told deputies that he had been feeding his son when he started choking. When Brendemuhl removed the bottle from the baby’s mouth, he said the baby threw up and stopped breathing. The baby was taken to the Naval Hospital on board the Marine Base in Twentynine Palms. Doctors there found numerous injuries on the baby, and transferred him to Loma Linda Children’s Hospital for specialized care. The Sheriff’s Department called in its Crimes Against Children unit to investigate. During the next two weeks, the baby’s condition worsened until it was declared brain dead. An autopsy was performed and the coroner ruled the death a homicide. On April 25, the baby’s father, Zachary Brendemuhl, was arrested on the Marine Base for investigation of his son’s murder, child cruelty, and assault on a child causing death. Brendemuhl was arraigned on those charges Wednesday. He is being held without bail and is expected to return to court June 4.
