Kyle Hinkle

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A Bensalem child abuse case that began with a three-month-old’s traumatic injuries in 2012 has now led to a criminal homicide charge after the victim died years later, Bensalem Township Police announced on Monday, Nov. 24.

Kyle Hinkle, 38, of Allentown, is accused of causing the fatal complications that stemmed from severe head and neck trauma inflicted on his infant son in a Virginia Avenue home on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, according to police.

Medical staff at Aria Torresdale Hospital — now Jefferson Torresdale Hospital — reported the baby’s bleeding in the brain and retinal hemorrhages at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, prompting an investigation by Bucks County Children and Youth, the release said. A CAT scan showed both new and old injuries in different stages of healing.

The infant was flown to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where a Child Protection Program doctor determined the injuries were caused by “significant force consistent with abusive head trauma,” authorities said.

Hinkle later admitted he shook the crying infant multiple times that morning “without supporting the child’s head,” resulting in injuries that required ICU admission, police detailed.

He pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault, Endangering the Welfare of Children, and Simple Assault. His sentence included two years in county prison followed by three years of parole and probation, officials said.

On Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, Bensalem Police were notified by Pennsylvania State Police that the child — who had lived with disabilities from the abuse — had died in Oliver at age 11, according to the release. An autopsy in Westmoreland County ruled the death a complication of the original blunt force trauma.

After reviewing the autopsy and the 2012 case, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office approved an additional charge of third-degree murder.

District Justice Michael Gallagher issued a warrant for Hinkle’s arrest on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Officers traveled to Allentown that afternoon with help from Allentown Police and took him into custody at his workplace, the release said.

Hinkle’s preliminary arraignment was held before Gallagher, who remanded him to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of $2,000,000 bail.