Nothing is more annoying than a crying baby on a plane. But 60-year-old passenger Joe Rickey Hundley took things too far when he slapped the crying baby after he told the mother, "shut that ('N word') baby up." On Feb. 15, KBOI2 shared the details of this disturbing incident.
According to the report, Hundley was sitting next to the baby and his mother, Jessica Bennett, while on a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Feb. 8.
The assault left the 19-month-old toddler, Jonah, with a scratch under his right eye. According to Bennett, 33, her son began crying from the change in cabin pressure as the plane landed. Ms. Bennett stated that Joe Rickey Hundley then turned around and slapped her baby in the face with an open hand, which caused the defenseless child to scream even louder.
The criminal complaint revealed that several passengers on the plane tried to help the mother, including Todd Wooten. Wooten told authorities that after he heard the man use the racial slur, he went to investigate. Wooten also stated that he witnessed Bennett’s child being slapped.
Hundley, who is the president of an aircraft parts manufacturer in Idaho, denies that he hit the child and claims he only asked the mother to “quiet the child.” He also says he had only one drink during the flight, but Bennett said Hundley “reeked of alcohol.”
This case is still developing and surprisingly Hundley was not taken into custody but he has been charged with simple assault.
"We think that it is important to let the case develop, and we'll see how it all comes out," Hundley's attorney Marcia Shein said Friday.
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