Father shot, killed his 3-week-old baby girl with crossbow, authorities say

COLESVILLE, N.Y. (WBNG/Gray News) - A father in New York admitted to firing a crossbow at his wife while she was holding their 3-week-old daughter, injuring the mom and killing the baby.

On Friday, Judge Cawley sentenced Patrick Proefriedt to a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison. He was sentenced on the charges of murder in the second degree of his daughter Eleanor and attempted murder of his wife.

In 2023, around 5:15 a.m., Broome County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report that an adult female and a female infant had been shot with a crossbow at a home.

According to the sheriff’s office, the initial investigation showed that Proefriedt got into an argument with his wife and fired a crossbow while she was holding their three-week-old daughter, Eleanor.

The broadhead crossbow bolt hit Eleanor in the upper torso, exiting the armpit before striking the woman in the chest.

Proefriedt then allegedly tried to remove the bolt before attempting to stop his wife from calling 911. He fled the scene in a red 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck before deputies arrived on the scene.

Eleanor was pronounced dead at the scene, and Proefriedt’s wife was released from the hospital later that day with non-life-threatening injuries.

The sheriff’s office said they found Proefriedt in the woods less than a mile from the house after his vehicle was stuck in the mud.