Fridley Man Charged in Death of 5-Month-Old Son
A 23-year-old Fridley man is now charged with one count of 2nd-degree murder after the death of his 5-month-old son earlier this year.
According to court documents, on March 1 around 7:30 p.m., the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an unresponsive five‐month‐old child. Initial reports indicated that Aaron Michael Orlando Rathke and the child’s mother had driven their son to the Fridley Police Department after he had stopped breathing at their home earlier that evening.
Upon arrival at the Fridley Police Department, the boy, Kaiden Michael Rathke, was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Officers began CPR at the scene. Kaiden was transported to Children’s Hospital via ambulance and pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital at 8:03 p.m.
Rathke told law enforcement that the mother was home alone with Kaiden at 11:00 a.m. and that the child had stopped breathing. According to Rathke, Kaiden’s mother was able to get him to breathe again by pushing on his chest in a manner consistent with infant chest compressions. When Rathke got home from work that evening, he took Kaiden into their shared bedroom at 6:50 p.m. and said he was changing his diaper when Kaiden vomited and stopped breathing. Rathke said he pushed on the child’s chest but was unsuccessful in his attempts to get Kaiden to breathe. They decided to drive Kaiden to the Fridley Police Department.
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When Anoka County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrived at Children’s Hospital, Rathke told them he would be doing all of the talking because Kaiden’s mother was too upset to speak to them. He then said he needed to leave to pick up a family member but agreed to talk to law enforcement first. According to Rathke, he received a call from the mother sometime between noon and 1:00 p.m. that day reporting that Kaiden’s eyes had rolled back into his head, and he had stopped breathing. Rathke said the mother pushed on his chest and Kaiden started breathing again. A short time later, Kaiden stopped breathing again and the mother went downstairs to get Rathke’s father, who they were living with.
Rathke said he returned home from work at approximately 5:00 p.m. and Kaiden appeared to be “fine” when he got home. He took Kaiden into the bedroom to change him and heard him make a “gurgling” sound. He began vomiting from his mouth and nose and then stopped breathing. Rathke said he gave Kaiden CPR for 15‐20 minutes and that his head and body became completely cold.
Rathke said they did not call 911 because there have been incidents they have been able to “bring him back.” Rathke said he considered taking Kaiden to Unity Hospital, which was near their house, but did not because he believed they would have just said to bring him to Children’s Hospital. They did not call an ambulance because their neighborhood is “pretty quiet” and they didn’t want everyone running out to the middle of street “being nosy,” according to the complaint. Rathke explained that Kaiden would have difficulty breathing sometimes or would “forget to breathe,” saying that it had been happening every few weeks since he was four months old. When it would occur, Rathke would use his fingers to press against Kaiden’s chest to get him to breathe again. Rathke described Kaiden as a quiet baby that would “holler” whenever he was picked up or touched. When asked what it was like to change Kaiden’s diaper, Rathke said, “It was hell,” and that Kaiden would “scream his lungs out.”
Rathke told detectives he noticed an area on Kaiden’s ribs that felt “indented.” He did not know how it had happened and said there have never been any incidents in the past in which Kaiden was injured. Rathke reported being diagnosed as bipolar, which results in him getting angry and having “mini outbursts” and “blank out,” which he described as being unable to recall what would happen. He denied having any mini outbursts with Kaiden when he was up every hour of the night caring for him because he would have been too tired.
In a voluntary statement with Kaiden’s mother, she reported that she had been lying on her bed with him around noon that day when she noticed he had stopped breathing. She sat up and pressed on Kaiden’s chest until he began to breathe again. She noticed he stopped breathing a second time about an hour later and went to get Rathke’s father. They checked on Kaiden and he appeared to be fine.
The mother said that Rathke brought Kaiden into their bedroom to change him after he got home from work. She was in the living room and could hear Kaiden crying for twenty minutes. Kaiden stopped crying for 5‐10 minutes and she went into the bedroom to check on him. When she walked in, Rathke was giving Kaiden chest compressions and mouth to mouth. Rathke told the mother that Kaiden was not breathing. The mother told Rathke they needed to bring Kaiden to the hospital. She denied that Kaiden had any prior issues with difficulty breathing in the last month or two. The mother said Rathke did not want her to tell his parents that Kaiden was not breathing and was scared they would think he did something to Kaiden.
The mother reported that on Monday, February 27, 2023, she had gone to get her nails done and Rathke cared for Kaiden in the morning before dropping him off at her aunt’s house so he could go to work. The mother reported that Kaiden had vomited “so much” that day after being picked up from her aunt’s house that she thought he might have a stomach virus.
The aunt told law enforcement that she was concerned something was wrong with Kaiden while he was at her house on February 27, 2023, because he had vomited a lot after being dropped off.
Google records indicate that the on March 01,2023 at 6:40 p.m., Rathke searched, “What are the sign of death [SIC].”
On March 06, 2023, Rathke provided another statement to law enforcement. He told the detective that he may have hugged Kaiden “a little too hard.” He explained that he always gave Kaiden big hugs because, “that way, I wouldn’t lose it.” Rathke denied that Kaiden had ever been dropped, bumped into anything, or had any physical accidents resulting in injury. He admitted that he should have done more to address Kaiden’s breathing issue but said his job was too important to leave for a medical appointment because he replaces peoples’ brakes.
On June 06, 2023, detectives learned from a source that the mother sent her a Snapchat message that Rathke had “killed the baby.”
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On June 06, 2023, the mother sent Rathke’s mother several messages. In one, she wrote, “I am scared to let you guys know because I don’t want to hurt you guys. But it is what happened to [Kaiden] and it is related to [Rathke] because I was in the room but I was scared to talk.” “Because how he put him to sleep is not normal? I’m not going to report it or anything. I’m let you guys deal with the heaviness that I have been carrying because I didn’t want to hurt you guys….He suffocated him and then pushed on his chest to bring him back for he can breathe again and this has been happening often…He suffocated him and put him to sleep and then pushed on his chest to bring him back. And notice that his rib cages out of place. [SIC]”
On August 01, 2023, the mother had contact with police and told officers that her ex‐boyfriend had killed their child. On September 27, 2023, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office released their preliminary report concerning the death of Kaiden. The Immediate Cause of Death was listed as multiple blunt force injuries and the Manner of Death was Homicide. Injuries found during the autopsy included: subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage, traumatic axonal injury of the brain and spinal cord, optic nerve sheath hemorrhage and scant retina hemorrhaging, and multiple acute and healing rib fractures with remote fracturing of the mid thoracic spinal cord.
On October 03, 2023, the mother provided another voluntary statement to law enforcement. The mother told law enforcement that she had been scared to come forward because Rathke has been abusive to her as well. Rathke told her that he would put Kaiden to sleep by placing pressure on Kaiden’s throat so he could not breathe, causing Kaiden to pass out. Rathke would then “bring Kaiden back.” The mother believed Kaiden’s broken ribs were from Rathke doing chest compressions on Kaiden’s chest. Rathke told her he would do this to Kaiden every time he was having a hard time getting Kaiden to sleep. Rathke would take Kaiden into the bedroom when he put him to sleep. The mother said she witnessed Rathke “choke” Kaiden when he was three months old. It was early in the morning, and she woke to the sound of Kaiden “suffering.” She saw Rathke “choking” Kaiden and tried to intervene, but Rathke pushed her away.
Law enforcement also spoke to the mother of Rathke’s seven‐year‐old child. Rathke told the mother that he had been holding Kaiden when he stopped breathing. The mother of the seven-year-old reported several incidents where Rathke was violent with her during their relationship, including throwing her into walls and hitting her in the face. She reported that their child had a history of seizures that ceased after he stopped having overnights with Rathke. Rathke told her that he was relieved Kaiden was dead because he did not have to deal with the mother anymore.
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