The death of an 8-week-old Queens boy who cops say was violently shaken by his father four months ago has been declared a homicide, police said Saturday.
Little Mason Sanchez was found unconscious inside his parents’ apartment on 88th St. near Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica on Aug. 16.
Medics rushed the infant to Jamaica Hospital, then transported him to Cohen Children’s Medical Center for further care, but Mason could not be saved and died of his injuries three days later.
An autopsy later revealed that Mason died from shaken baby syndrome, sources with knowledge of the case said.
On Aug. 21, cops arrested the tot’s father, 28-year-old Luis Sanchez, and charged him with manslaughter and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17 years old. Sanchez was caring for Mason when the child fell unconscious, police said.
Sanchez remains held on $150,000 cash bail and is due back in court on Jan. 24, public records show.
Queens prosecutors will determine if the charges against him will be upgraded now that the baby’s death has been declared a homicide, officials said.
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.
Melissa said it was her former boyfriend and father of her two children, Cristofer “Shane” Wethy, telling her there was something wrong with their then 2-month-old son. Melissa could hear Shane begging Sababstian to breathe on the other side of the line.
An MRI at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus showed Sabastian had substantial brain damage. Doctors siadthey probably won’t know how bad it is until Sabastian misses standard developmental milestones, Melissa said, adding that Sabastian is still having seizures and is suffering from other ailments.
Wethy was indicted by the recent edition of the Coshocton County Grand Jury with one count of endangering children, a second-degree felony. Melissa was present Monday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court when Wethy was arraigned and entered a not guilty plea to the charge.
“I couldn’t even make eye contact with him. I literally couldn’t look at him,” Melissa said. “I don’t want any kind of connection with him whatsoever.”
The night in question
Melissa and Wethy met while both lived in Florida. They never married, but dated a long time and Wethy moved to Coshocton with Melissa when she wanted to be closer to family. Along with Sabastian, they have a daughter, 6-year-old Mari Jayn.
The couple broke up about a year ago, about the time Sabastian was conceived. Melissa tried to remain friendly with Wethy for the sake of the children, she said, and their relationship was fine. Wethy was not previously abusive with her or the children, according to Melissa, although he would raise his voice.
“I never quite felt comfortable once we split up. I still tried to have really good communication and contact with him because of our daughter,” McCloy said. “I played nice as much as I could and as long as I could so I could monitor things. There was something, but never a reason for me to feel that. I would say aggressive parenting, but not abusive.”
Wethy usually worked nights, but was off work and was going to keep both children for the first time overnight alone at his home, Melissa said. She helped put the kids to bed about 8:30 p.m. and then returned to her house, as she had to work early the next day.
However, that phone call from Wethy woke her up in the middle of the night. He begged her to come over right away because there was something wrong.
“He said ‘Something’s wrong, I need you to get over here.’ He dropped the phone, I heard it hit,” she said. “I could hear him say ‘Breathe, just breathe.'”
Melissa rushed over, grabbed Sabastian and put him in the car. She drove to Coshocton Regional Medical Center.
“Sabastian was just limp. He was pale, he was limp, he wasn’t responding at all,” she said. “I looked down as I’m getting in the car. As I’m sitting down, he gasps for air.”
Sabastian was flown via medical helicopter to Nationwide. Wethy went in the helicopter, while Melissa drove so they would have a vehicle in Columbus.
“He’s the more emotional parent. I’m the more level headed person. I could drive there no problem. He was hysterical,” Melissa said.
Initially doctors weren’t sure what was going on and Wethy didn’t provide any insight. A CAT scan revealed brain trauma and an MRI confirmed the shaken baby diagnosis. Melissa said they were both interviewed twice by detectives investigating the case. A warrant was issued by the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office once the MRI was reviewed. Wethy remains in the Coshocton Justice Center on a $100,000 bond.
Sabastian’s condition
Sabastian initially had bleeding on his brain. On a followup visit, doctors thought he had more bleeding, but determined that scar tissue had made his brain shrink and it just looked as if the blood had increased, Melissa said.
“The blood is still there and it can be there for months they said. It can cause more and more issues. One of the things we’re watching for is increased pressure in his brain. It can still be months after and he could have symptoms of that,” she added.
Doctors believe the seizures are under control. However, Sabastian recently contracted a virus which has put him back into having seizures. This past week he went back to Nationwide Children’s Hospital with a suspected respiratory tract infection.
In the four months since Sabastian has been born, he’s been admitted to Nationwide four times. More trips are probably in the future.
Melissa said she’s spoken to several people with knowledge on shaken baby syndrome and said it’s a 50-50 shot on Sabastian developing normally as he ages. He might also need to take seizure medication for life, or could come out of the seizures fine. There’s a lot that needs to be seen yet.
Community support
Even with health insurance, medical bills are mounting. Melissa also had to drop down to part time at work in order to deal with Sabastian’s issues and medical appointments.
A GoFundMeaccount has been established to raise funds to help with medical costs. Two fundraisers are also planned. She said a situation like this reinforces why she wanted to move back to Coshocton from Florida.
“If something happens, this is the type of community where everybody gets behind you,” Melissa said. “There are issues, but there are also a lot of really good people here who try.”
Melissa regularly updates thePrayers for Sabastian Facebookpage so the public can keep tabs on how he’s doing. She also wants a record for Sabasitan to see when he gets older so he knows just how his life started out and, hopefully, how far he’s come.
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.
A Bellingham woman accused of shaking a 3-year-old child to death is now charged with her murder.
Kamee Dixon, 27, made her first court appearance on Friday for the death of Hazel Homan. Hazel was the daughter of Dixon’s boyfriend.
Court documents claim the little girl suffered months of horrific abuse at the hands of Dixon leading up to her death.
Doctors say Hazel died of Shaken Baby Syndrome, according to the documents. Doctors also reportedly found bruising on her neck, chin, chest and groin area.
According to documents, Hazel had been living with her dad since June, and Dixon would take care of her while he was at work. After Hazel’s death, the medical examiner found multiple broken bones that took place within the last six months.
Her finger, wrist, knee and hip bones all showed signs of breaks and healing.
Court documents also detail a lengthy record of abuse in the last several months, including an incident Aug. 3 when a family member who was babysitting Hazel noticed and photographed suspicious bruising on the toddler’s chest and shoulders. The family member also noticed scarring from an apparent cigarette burn, according to the documents.
Later that month, a friend was at Dixon’s house when Hazel wet herself. Dixon reportedly got angry and placed her in a cold shower. Dixon’s friend told authorities Hazel was in the shower for a long period of time and “was in visible distress, shaking and clinched teeth,” until the friend stepped in to prevent further injury, according to the documents.
On Oct. 2, court documents detail that Hazel received a burn to her hand, but that she was not seen by doctors until about a week later. A Child Protective Services (CPS) referral was made due to mandatory reporting laws.
According to court documents, Hazel was again seen by medical professionals later that month for an alkaline chemical burn to her eye.
Based on medical records, CPS referrals and eyewitness accounts, police say there were obvious signs of physical abuse to Hazel, and Dixon was the primary caregiver to the toddler when her father was away.
However, Hazel’s father Brandon Homan said he does not believe his girlfriend did this. He showed up to court in her defense and spoke to Q13 News last week.
“This is a tragic situation,” he said. “I just, more than anyone, I am the father. It’s my baby girl, I want answers too. But don’t place blame.”
Dixon was charged Monday with second-degree murder and homicide by abuse. Her bail was set at $1 million.
This article was originally published byq13fox.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.
Scott Juceam 