BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Rogers man in prison for shaking his newborn son in 2009 and facing a murder charge after his son died last year has pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.
Zachary Campbell, 34, is facing one count of capital murder. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Aug. 25.
A pretrial hearing in the case has been scheduled for Sept. 29 at the Benton County Courthouse.
A probable cause affidavit filed on July 11 said Campbell was convicted of first-degree battery in 2010 for shaking his newborn son five times over a two-week period in 2009.
The affidavit says the newborn had a brain injury, swollen lips and a darkened right eye with other bruising when he was admitted to the hospital.
Campbell was arrested and charged with first-degree battery in December 2009, which he eventually pleaded guilty to. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison for the crime in August 2010.
The child was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, a broken clavicle and multiple bruises to the lips and eyes. The newborn started having seizures and had to be intubated.
He was then diagnosed with cerebral palsy and had to use a feeding tube.
The affidavit says the child was placed with a foster family and later adopted by an unrelated family who cared for him until he died three months before his 15th birthday in July 2024. Along with cerebral palsy, the child had spastic quadriplegia and moderate seizure activity.
The affidavit said the child needed constant care.
The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory ruled the manner of death a homicide due to complications of a remote traumatic brain injury. The autopsy also showed the child had microcephaly, which led to underdevelopment of his brain.
Campbell is currently being held at the Benton County Detention Center on no bond. He was serving his 32-year sentence at the Wrightsville Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections in central Arkansas.
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