Police: 6-Week-Old Infant Found In Hotel Room Died Of Shaken Baby Syndrome

An autopsy of a 6-week-old infant found in a hotel room revealed the baby died of injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, according to police.

The infant was found in a Myrtle Beach hotel room with cocaine and four other children, police said. The child died Tuesday, according to Horry County Coroner Robert Edge.

Two adults are facing charges of unlawful neglect of child and possession of cocaine, according to warrants. Charges for one of the adults has been upgraded to homicide by child abuse.

Laquena Lanishia Bostic and Geames Kena Ratliff were charged after Myrtle Beach police officers responded to a call about an unresponsive infant at the Camelot Hotel at 2000 N. Ocean Boulevard on Sunday.

Ratcliff’s charges have been upgraded to Homicide by Child Abuse. Those charges were upgraded Wednesday. Ratcliff is 37, from Rockingham, NC. He is also charged with five counts of unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person by legal custodian and possession of cocaine. He was booked around 12:25 a.m. Tuesday and remain in the center as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

While conducting a search of the room, a “white powdery substance was found in the room within close proximity to the victim child’s bottle,” police said. A field test revealed the substance was positive “for the presence of cocaine,” warrants said. The child was in critical condition at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center at the time the warrants were issued.

According to warrants, there were four other children in the hotel room at the time.

Bostic has been charged with five counts of unlawful neglect of child or helpless person and possession of cocaine, according to warrants. She was released on a $30,000 bond, $5,000 for each charge.

 

This article was originally published by WBTW.com.

Scott Juceam is one of the leading advocates against Shaken Baby Syndrome. Scott’s life changed when his daughter Hannah was shaken to death by her nanny in 2006. Since then, Scott has dedicated his life to preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome and child abuse.

To learn more about me, please visit my website at www.ScottJuceam.com or you can click here.

Donations Of Purple Newborn Hats Needed For Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Campaign

A public education campaign from the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome is asking knitters and crocheters to help raise awareness about shaken baby syndrome by making purple hats for newborns.

All nine Marathon County Public Library locations will serve as drop-off sites for the Wisconsin CLICK for Babies campaign. Shaken Baby Syndrome is typically the result of a caregiver’s frustration with infant crying.

The letters PURPLE stand for: Peak of crying, Unexpected, Resists soothing, Pain like face, Long lasting, Evening.

The hats will be included in a package of items new parents receive.

Anyone who knits or crochets a cap is asked to create one that is at least 50% purple. Caps should have a circumference of 14 inches (13-15 in.) and a height of 4-6 inches.

Free patterns and more information about the campaign can be found here.

In 2006, Wisconsin passed legislation requiring hospitals, birthing centers, home visiting programs, child care providers, schools and all providers of prenatal, postpartum and young child care coordination services to have educational materials about shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma available to parents.

Starting in 2016, the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board started a grant program to fund the implementation of Period of PURPLE Crying program in hospitals and birthing centers.

This article was originally published by WSAW.

 

Scott Juceam is one of the leading advocates against Shaken Baby Syndrome. Scott’s life changed when his daughter Hannah was shaken to death by her nanny in 2006. Since then, Scott has dedicated his life to preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome and child abuse.

To learn more about me, please visit my website at www.ScottJuceam.com or you can click here.

Huntington Man Has Admitted To Shaking His Girlfriend’s Son

A Huntington man has admitted to violently shaking his girlfriend’s two-month-old son.

Braxton M. Gray, 24, has pleaded guilty to Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, a Level 3 felony, related to a March 26 incident that left critically hurt.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Huntington police were called to a hospital that March day around 11:20 a.m. on a report of a baby in severe trauma. According to court records, a MRI conducted at the hospital found blood in the spine of the child, an indication of shaken baby syndrome.

The baby was listed in critical condition.

The baby’s mother told police her boyfriend – Gray – had been watching the baby that morning while she was at work. When she arrived home around 10:30 a.m., she said Gray told her the baby was having trouble breathing and that he performed CPR, the affidavit said.

At that point, the woman said she took the baby to the hospital.

Court documents said Gray told investigators he went back to bed after his girlfriend left for work and woke up around 9 a.m. to the baby fussing. Gray said he prepared a bottle and fell asleep while feeding the baby.

When he woke up, he said the baby was limp and had stopped breathing, the report said. He couldn’t find a heartbeat and began CPR, he told police.

According to the affidavit, Gray said he did not have a phone and did not ask neighbors for help because they did not like him. 

All of the medical records were submitted to Riley Children’s Hospital Child Protection Unit for review. In the affidavit, the unit said none of the injuries described by the mother or Gray were possible causes for the baby’s injuries and the findings are “highly concerning for abusive head trauma,” the affidavit said.

Gray was arrested in April. He’ll be sentenced Sept. 9.

This article was originally published by Wane.com.

Scott Juceam is one of the leading advocates against Shaken Baby Syndrome. Scott’s life changed when his daughter Hannah was shaken to death by her nanny in 2006. Since then, Scott has dedicated his life to preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome and child abuse.

To learn more about me, please visit my website at www.ScottJuceam.com or you can click here.