An autopsy revealed that the boy’s 2024 death was caused by the identical head trauma he suffered as a child in Pennsylvania.
More than a decade after a Pennsylvania infant was hospitalized for severe head injuries and survived until his death in 2024, his father is now charged with murder.
Kyle Hinkle, 38, of Allentown, was charged with third-degree murder after police reviewed an autopsy that linked his 11-year-old son’s 2024 death to injuries sustained as a 3-month-old in 2012, according to a Bensalem Township Police Department news release.
According to police, the boy was born in July 2012 and was living in Bensalem when Bucks County Children and Youth called the department on October 12, 2012. Medical workers at Aria Torresdale Hospital, now Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, stated that the infant experienced brain bleeding and retinal hemorrhages.
A CAT scan revealed both new and old injuries in various stages of healing, and a Child Protection Program doctor later found that the injuries were inflicted and caused by “significant force consistent with abusive head trauma,” according to the release.
The infant was taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit, authorities said. According to the announcement, Hinkle later admitted to shaking his son several times that morning because he couldn’t stop the wailing and did so without supporting the infant’s head.
In 2012, Hinkle was charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, and simple assault. He pleaded guilty to all counts and received a two-year sentence in county prison, followed by three years of supervised parole and probation, according to the department.
Pennsylvania State Police alerted Bensalem police on August 14, 2024, that the victim in the 2012 case had died at the age of 11 in Oliver, Pennsylvania. According to the announcement, an autopsy in Westmoreland County showed that the cause of death was sequelae from blunt force trauma to the head and neck sustained during the 2012 abuse.
Based on the autopsy and the initial inquiry, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office recommended new charges. On Nov. 24, 2025, District Justice Michael Gallagher issued a warrant for third-degree murder, and Bensalem cops, assisted by Allentown police, apprehended Hinkle at his business in Allentown.
Hinkle was arraigned by Gallagher and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of the $2 million bail, according to the release.
It’s unknown whether Hinkle hired an attorney or entered a plea.
