8-25-20 fdl man charged in death of child

A $1 million signature bond has been ordered for a Fond du Lac man charged in connection with the death of a child who died six years after he struck her  in the head.  Twenty nine year old Thomas Abitz Junior made  his initial Fond du Lac court appearance Monday on a charge of first degree reckless homicide.   The victim suffered a traumatic head injury in 2011, and died in 2017.   A doctor who specializes in child abuse pediatrics says the death due to pneumonia was a result of chronic health conditions that were the direct result of her traumatic brain injury.  Abitz  was already serving a 13 year prison sentence in the case.   Investigators say the wo year old girl suffered a skull fracture and  hemorrhaging around both eyes following the incident and was in what was described as a vegetative state until she died.