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NJ Man Charged In Infant Son's Death

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) -- Authorities in southern New Jersey say a man smothered his 4-week-old son with a pillow when the infant would not stop crying, then left him alone when he realized the child wasn't breathing.

Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Sunday that 25-year-old Erik D. Griffin of Burlington City was charged with murder. He was being held in the county jail on $750,000 bail.

Bernardi said Griffin put the pillow over his son, Nyir, on Thursday to stop him from crying. Griffin removed the pillow once the infant stopped, but then left the home when he noticed the boy wasn't breathing.

The infant was later found by his maternal grandmother, who tried to revive him. The child was then taken to Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro, where he was pronounced dead.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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