Lakewood Man Detained Pending Trial In Death Of Infant Daughter

Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 12:45 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

LAKEWOOD, NJ.- Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer reported that on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Ruben Santiago, 36, of Lakewood, New Jersey, appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and was ordered to remain detained pending trial of a charge of Murder in connection with the beating death of his three-month-old daughter.

     The murder charge stems from an investigation that began on May 5, 2025, when, shortly before 7:30 p.m., members of the Lakewood Township Police Department responded to a Pinehurst Drive residence after receiving a 911 Emergency Call reporting a three-month-old girl having trouble breathing.

     Upon arrival, Police Officers discovered the baby in respiratory distress. The baby was immediately transported to Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township, New Jersey, and later transported to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, where, despite life-saving efforts, on May 6, 2025, the baby girl was pronounced deceased.

     On May 7, 2025, the Ocean County Regional Medical Examiners performed a post-mortem examination of the baby girl. The Medical Examiner determined the Cause of Death to be blunt force trauma to the head, causing fracturing and a subdural hematoma, and the Manner of Death Homicide.

     During the subsequent investigation and based on the Medical Examiner’s Offices, Detectives charged the baby’s parents, Santiago and Caitlin Gibson, 28, also of Lakewood, New Jersey, with first-degree Murder in the death of the baby girl.

     Following being charged, Santiago and Gibson were remanded to the Ocean County Jail. A detention hearing has been scheduled for today in Ocean County Superior Court.