Elko Man Brought Up On Murder Charges

ELKO – An Elko man accused in the death of an infant in May was bound over to district court Thursday on open murder

 

He was charged with open murder in the death of a 7-month-old male and child abuse or neglect of a 4-year-old boy.

Police said O’Dell, who is unrelated to the children, was caring for them when he called 911 to report the infant was not breathing.

The baby was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City where he died two days later.

O’Dell was arrested on May 12 and booked in to Elko County Jail. He remains in custody.

According to court documents filed on May 14, O’Dell was watching the children while their mother worked out of town. He told police he left the baby alone and then found hi not breathing.

He said he tried to resuscitate the baby by splashing cold water in the shower, but dropped the baby from a height of about 12-18 inches as he was turning the water on.

Medical staff at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital said the baby had multiple skull fractures indicative of “shaken baby syndrome.”

In talking with the police at the hospital, O’Dell reportedly admitted to striking the infant on the head out of frustration. He also admitted to spanking the older child for having trash under his bed.

At Primary Children’s, a doctor said the baby died from abusive head trauma resulting in brain damage.

In the criminal complaint, District Attorney Tyler Ingram said the state may seek the death penalty if O’Dell is convicted.

An arraignment date in district court is pending.

This article was originally published by ElkoDaily.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.

October Trial Date Set For Man Accused In Baby’s Death

A Marietta man accused of killing his 2-month-old son by shaking him is scheduled to go on trial in October in Washington County Common Pleas Court.

A grand jury indicted Michael A. Dawson Jr., 31, on murder and endangering-children charges on Aug. 5, following his arrest by Washington County authorities on July 26.

According to online court records, he pleaded not guilty during a hearing in Common Pleas Court on Aug. 6 and a trial was scheduled for Oct. 7.

Dawson’s son, Gannon, died on July 26 at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where he was taken after being treated at Marietta Memorial Hospital. The baby suffered a skull fracture; a broken collar bone that was already healing; seven to eight broken or fractured ribs in various stages of healing; and new and old hemorrhages that were consistent with shaken baby syndrome, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.

Dawson remains in the Washington County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

UPDATE: 7/27/2020 2:05 P.M.

A Marietta man remains jailed on a murder charge after authorities said his 2-month-old baby died Sunday at a Columbus hospital of injuries apparently caused by his dad shaking him.

Washington County sheriff’s deputies arrested Michael A. Dawson, 31, on Sunday, and he was arraigned Monday morning in Marietta Municipal Court. A judge set his bond at $500,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for 1 p.m. on Aug. 5.

Deputies were called to 101 Longacre St., Marietta, on Thursday to investigate a report of a 2-month-old baby not breathing.

The baby, Gannon Dawson, was taken to Marietta Memorial Hospital and then flown to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, authorities said.

According to a sheriff’s office news release, deputies were told that Michael Dawson came home about 8 a.m. after working 13 consecutive days. The baby’s mother, Megan Wiggins, was asleep, and Dawson said that the baby had colic.

Dawson told investigators he picked up the baby and began feeding him. Soon after, the baby began vomiting and having trouble breathing. That’s when he said he woke up Wiggins and told her to call 911 while he started giving the baby CPR.

After the baby was taken to Marietta Memorial, the sheriff’s office said hospital employees were “highly” concerned that the baby had been abused, noting that Dawson’s account of what happened was not consistent with the baby’s injuries, which included bruising under or around his chin.

After the baby was taken to Nationwide Children’s, the sheriff’s office said detectives received notification of a skull fracture; a broken collar bone that was already healing; seven to eight broken or fractured ribs in various stages of healing; and new and old hemorrhages that were consistent with shaken baby syndrome. Liver damage and bruising to the bowels were also reported.

The sheriff’s office said detectives interviewed Dawson and Wiggins at the hospital in Columbus, and they agreed that the baby had not been dropped or been injured in a car accident. They also said the baby had not been left in the care of anyone else.

Wiggins also confirmed to detectives that the baby did not have any medical problems at birth.

Meanwhle, Dawson, according to the sheriff’s office, told detectives several times that he “never did anything to Gannon intentionally or just to be mean to him” and that he did not do anything intentionally to hurt his son.

ORIGINAL STORY: 7/27/20 11:19 A.M.

Sheriff Larry Mincks says an arrest has been made in a murder case in Washington County.

Mincks said a man was arrested Sunday in a case involving the death of a two- month-old child.

More details are to be released at a news conference Monday at 1 p.m.

This article was originally published by WTAP.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.

 

 

Mom Of Shaken Baby Syndrome Survivor Speaks Out

As a working-from-home mom of a special needs young adult, Carolyn Stinnett understands the deep divide between those who say COVID-19 has run its course and want businesses opened up and those who feel it’s way too early to make that call.

Stinnett, a Blount County resident, teaches at the Blount County campus of Pellissippi State Community College and has been instructing her students online for weeks, something she said takes so much longer to do versus being in person in a classroom. Her son, Corey Chandler, is a survivor of shaken baby syndrome, a 21-year-old graduate of William Blount High School who functions at the level of a 6- to 9-month-old because of his severe injuries. So worried that she will bring the virus into her home, the devoted mom hasn’t gone anywhere except on short walks and necessary appointments.

“Corey has not been out of the house except for walks in his chair in secluded areas since March 10,” Stinnett said. “The anxiety a mom of a medically fragile child feels during normal circumstances is high, but the fear of COVID-19 exposure has driven my worries through the roof. I clean constantly. I myself haven’t been inside a building — any building — since I taught my last on-campus class March 12. I worry about him contracting the virus and how hospitalization would work. Would I be able to stay with him in ICU?”

He is a fighter

Chandler graduated from WBHS in May 2019, but the months leading up to his special day were filled with health crisis. Between January and May last year, he was hospitalized four times with pneumonia and the flu. He has chronic lung disease, making him vulnerable to pneumonia and other problems.

Because of sleep apnea, Chandler must use an iVap and keeps a pulse oximeter machine on at all times to monitor his heart rate and oxygenation.

The list of strikes against Chandler is long. He required spinal fusion surgery when he was younger. Cerebral palsy, a side effect of shaken baby syndrome, caused muscles to torque around the inserted rods, which makes one side of Chandler’s back unaligned with the other. His lung on that same side is also compressed, making expansion difficult, Stinnett explained.

She adopted Chandler when he was just a baby. Chandler was shaken violently by one or both birth parents when he was just a month old, which caused irreparable brain damage. It was at least 24 hours after the injury before the baby was taken to the hospital.

According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, there are 1,300 reported cases of shaken baby syndrome annually in the United States. About 25% of victims die, while 80% of those who survive have lifelong disabilities.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, with the third week designated for Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness. Stinnett said she shares Chandler’s story in hopes of preventing someone else from destroying the life of a child with a 10-second mistake.

She said children are very vulnerable during quarantine. Adults and children are forced to wait it out 24/7 inside the home. Some parents have lost jobs or are working from home. Stress is through the roof in some instances.

Where stress can lead

“I would never wish what happened to Corey on another child, and while I wholeheartedly agree that the country should be sheltering in place until COVID-19 numbers show a sustained drop in cases, I do worry about children in homes where parents are stressed due to layoffs and money problems. Teachers normally provide a safety net because they see children every day during the school year and may be able to detect and report abuse in the early stages. Now, of course, students are sheltered at home so no one outside the family is able to keep track of their welfare. That is very scary.”

Marisa McPeck-Stringham is information and research specialist at the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome in Utah. She said the stress many are facing in this pandemic can lead to tragic mistakes.

“Stress is definitely a risk factor for shaken baby syndrome,” she said via phone. “When there is economic difficulty that includes job loss … we saw a rise in incidents during the last recession.”

McPeck-Stringham said it only takes seconds to inflict irreparable damage to a child. In severe cases like Corey’s immediate medical attention is critical. Some children experience a lower level of damage that might go undetected, she pointed out, only to be discovered later when the child has a seizure. While most have heard the term shaken baby syndrome, most doctors refer to it as inflicted head trauma, McPeck-Stringham pointed out. It is not just small infants who are the victims.

Who are our weak, defenseless?

A photo of a protestor in Nashville has made the rounds via social media. A sign read “Sacrifice the Weak; Reopen Tennessee.” Stinnett said she doesn’t know if the sign holder was referring to the elderly, disabled or medically fragile as the weak ones, but Chandler, she said, is a fighter.

“My son is one of the strongest people I know,” Stinnett said. “He functions as a 6- to 9-month old, all because he was shaken by birth parents. Few people could have made it 21½ years in Corey’s condition.”

There is a sign in Chandler’s room that sums it up: “A super hero lives here,” it states.

Ever since Chandler was a child, Stinnett has taken him with her to present at conferences on shaken baby syndrome. They have been to Salt Lake City, Atlanta and also Canada. They are set to attend a conference in September in Philadelphia, where Stinnett will talk about the challenges faced by children who survive shaken baby syndrome to age 21.

They no longer qualify for pediatric care and must find new doctors, Stinnett pointed out. Medications that were covered before age 21 are not after that. It is also more difficult to move and transport Chandler because of his size.

For all to see and know

“By presenting at conference, talking to various groups and giving information via newspaper or television interviews, our goal is prevention,” Stinnett said. “Corey was shaken at 1 month of age. His neck muscles were not developed and the violent back and forth motion of shaking causes internal trauma to the brain.”

Chandler had bruises on his chest where his chin struck during the violent shaking, Stinnett said. In addition, he also had bruises on his arms and a possible break where he was held tightly during the shaking.

“Most people’s nerves are on end during the pandemic,” the mom said. “A child’s crying can trigger shaking.”

Stinnett said adults should make sure the child doesn’t have some discomfort, such as a wet diaper and then put the child in a safe place, such as his or her bed, and walk away for a few minutes.

“No child ever died from crying,” she said. “But if a parent or caregiver loses his or her temper, or she may cause a child’s death or a lifetime of living with major health issues and permanent disabilities.”

McPeck-Stringham agreed, saying that crying is the No. 1 stimulus for abuse. Her organization provides educational programs to help parents cope in stressful situations. She said Stinnett is a great spokeswoman and hopes the conference in Philadelphia will take place as planned, with Stinnett in attendance.

“She is a wonderful mother and advocate,” McPeck-Stringham said.

This article was originally published by TheDailyTimes.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.

The Dangers Of Shaken Baby Syndrome

Due to COVID-19 a lot of things have transitioned from in-person to online.

That includes parenting classes at the Family Guidance Center of Lubbock.

One of those classes focuses on the dangers of Shaken Baby Syndrome and the real life visuals still make a big impact inside a classroom or online.

The class uses robotic babies that cry.

“The class is really how to help the baby cope with that crying how can we get it to stop crying and if that doesn’t work the importance of setting the baby down and separating yourself from the baby,” explained instructor Kim Vann.

They have clear skulls so when they are shaken you can see the impact that makes on their tiny brains and what that specific part functions.

“The reason why we take these into the schools and our parenting programs we love the impact of the clear skull,” Vann explained. “And so with that you can see the importance of brain function. So where each section of the brain is highlighted those are what your brain controls. So when we shake the baby you’ll see the lights turn on and that’s the part of the brain that has been damaged from that. And when the baby stops crying that is severe damage possibly even death.”

Vann says the class is also helpful for parents to know that they’re not alone in the stress of parenthood.

“Just realizing you’re not by yourself, realizing this is my third child and this one is different and this is real and you’re not the only one going through that,” Vann said.

The class is free for anyone and offered virtually through Zoom.

You can register on the Family Guidance Center of Lubbock’s website.

This article was originally published by EverythingLubbock.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.

Stevens Point-area Man Charged in SBS Death

A 34-year-old Plover man is being held on a $50,000 cash bond in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s infant son, a death health officials are attributing to shaken baby syndrome.

Meyer Willkom, of Plover, appeared Tuesday in Portage County Circuit Court, where he faces recommended charges of first-degree reckless homicide.

Prosecutors say the 7-month-old child died June 20 after suffering a subdural hemorrhage consistent with a head injury and shaken baby syndrome.

During a hearing Tuesday in Portage County Circuit Court, Judge Thomas Flugaur set bond and ordered Willkom not to have any contact with the boy’s mother. Willkom is also prohibited from having unsupervised contact with any child.

Police and prosecutors say Willkom was caring for the child when he died.

Future court appearances for Willkom were not immediately available Tuesday.

This article was originally published by WaUSAUpilotandreview.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.

Pensacola Man Admits To Shaking Baby

A Pensacola man admitted to law enforcement that he shook a baby for eight to 10 seconds inducing shaken baby syndrome — causing brain hemorrhages, leading to seizures and necessitating the boy’s intubation.

Joe Gesse, 24, was arrested Tuesday morning, charged with aggravated child abuse and booked into the Escambia County Jail without a chance for bond.

Gesse admitted to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators to shaking a baby left in his care by the boy’s mother when she went to work, according to his arrest report.

The child’s mother went to work from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. June 6, she told investigators. Before she left, her boy was “a little fussy” but not acting unusual, and she asked Gesse to look after her son while she was gone.

When she returned from work, the mother noticed the baby was not at all his normally-playful self but was fussy the whole night and did not sleep between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

She called her own mother for advice, who suggested that the boy was probably experiencing pain caused by teething and recommended putting a small amount of Orajel on his gums. However, “the baby continued to not act right,” the report stated.

Her son’s pediatrician told her to take her baby to the emergency room, and a CT scan revealed hemorrhaging in the baby’s brain that medical experts believe was caused by trauma.

A doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital informed the mother that because her baby was “consistently having seizures,” he would have to be put into a medically induced coma and placed on a ventilator. 

A physician later explained to ECSO investigators that the baby’s injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome as if someone had shook “him causing his brain to repeatedly hit the inside of his skull, which can cause sever brain damage or death,” the report stated.

Gesee later admitted to shaking the baby for 8 to ten seconds when the boy had been left in his care.

The child was weaned out of the medically-induced coma over the span of a few days and appeared to have moderate brain activity. At the time Gesse’s arrest report was written, it was “unknown what long-term disabilities” the baby would have from his injuries.

County records indicated that Geese remained in custody Tuesday afternoon.

This article was originally published by PNJ.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.

Milwaukee Man Charged With Homicide Death Of Son

A 22-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged in connection to the death of his 3-month-old son.

Davionte Allen is charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide and one count of neglecting a child, consequence is death.

According to a criminal complaint, Allen was left alone with the child for around an hour and a half on Friday, June 12 at a residence near 36th and Sheridan. During that time, the child’s mother had gone to run an errand. Upon her return, the child “appeared to be sleeping” inside a pack-and-play.

Allen recorded the child making “weird grunting noises” while the mother was away. Not knowing what happened while she was gone, the mother continued to let the child sleep.

Approximately two hours later, the complaint states, the mother went to wake the child, but he was limp and unresponsive. She then rushed him to the hospital.

A CT scan at the hospital showed large bleeding on the brain, consistent with traumatic impact from shaken baby syndrome. The child was intubated and transferred to the Children’s Wisconsin intensive care unit.

There, the child was found to have hemorrhages “too numerous to count” extended into all layers of the retina. The child also had brain hemorrhage and herniation and damage to the brainstem. The complaint states that the child also had multiple, healing rib fractures.

A brain death evaluation was made by the hospital’s neurology department, revealing a complete loss of brain function. The child was taken off life support and died on June 14.

The complaint states that the child’s injuries were ruled by a doctor as “immediately symptomatic.”

In an interview, Allen told police that the child was colic and would not stop crying and would not go to sleep while the mother was out. Allen said he rocked, bounced and burped the child before laying him down for a nap — and denied harming the child in any way.

After being arrested and questioned by Milwaukee police detectives, Allen admitted to picking the child up with force and jerking his body without supporting his head. The child then began breathing irregularly, and Allen said he took a video to show to the mother.

In the video, the complaint states, Allen is heard saying “you okay, (son)…oh no.”

An autopsy confirmed the child’s cause of death as blunt force trauma and ruled the manner of death a homicide.

This article was originally posted by Fox6now.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.

‘Feral’ Children Hope For Relief

VALPARAISO — Portage Police Sgt. Janis Crafton hesitated with emotion Monday as she described for the court how three young children, who had become feral-like as a result of serious neglect by their mother, found their glimmer of hope with Gary Hanney dashed when his own neglect resulted in the death of the youngest sibling.

Hanney sat nearby in the courtroom and wept as well during what turned out to be the first phase of a two-day sentencing hearing three months after the 32-year-old Wheatfield resident pleaded guilty to a level 1 felony count of neglect of a dependent in the July 18, 2017 incident that led to the death of the 19-month-old girl.

The sentencing is scheduled to wrap up at 9 a.m. June 23 before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer.

Hanney, who faces 20 to 40 years behind bars, was living in Portage with Tamika Conley and was caring for her three children when at some point on the night in question, he claims he became aware that the youngest girl was injured and in need of medical care, according to court documents.

But rather than seek immediate care, he searched the internet for information about head trauma and called Conley home from work, according to officials. He waited 44 minutes to call for help and responding officials found the child was not breathing and had no pulse.

While Hanney claimed the child was injured after being bounced from a bed, Shannon Thompson, a child abuse pediatrician at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, testified Monday that that was not a plausible explanation for the child’s extensive injuries, which included bruising from nearly head to toe, bleeding in the brain and

The child died July 21, 2017.

Crafton said the deceased girl, and her then-6-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister, probably received the most stability in their life during the seven months they spent involved with Hanney.

Conley, 26, who has pleaded guilty to three level 3 felony counts of neglect of a dependent and faces 30 years of probation once Hanney’s case is wrapped up, did not regularly feed her children, locked them up in rooms, gave them Benadryl to sleep, Crafton said.

Crafton described their home at Camelot Manor Estates mobile home park as “barren” and “filthy.”

The children slept on stained bare mattresses on the floor, she said, and found scattered around the home were small bags used for heroin, drug needles and burned drug spoons.

Crafton described Conley’s lack of emotion as the most severe she has ever seen in her police work.

When she and another official were left to arrange for the child’s funeral, they offered the little girl’s ashes to Conley and her response was, “Well you care about her, so you take them,” Crafton said.

Hanney had pleaded guilty once prior in the case, but agreed with prosecutors in August to dismiss that agreement that carried a potential sentence of 20 to 30 years behind bars.

He told The Times in an exclusive interview in August that while admitting culpability in not seeking help sooner for the child, he was having second thoughts about having pleaded guilty to such a high-level criminal offense. He said he did not knowingly hurt the child and that the girl’s mother played a bigger role in the case than has been portrayed.

This article was originally published by NWITimes.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.

Court To Take Another Look At Shaken Baby Case

The Mississippi Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of Joshua Clark, an Itawamba County man whose murder conviction was overturned last fall.

The Supreme Court last week granted petitions for both Clark and the state. It will now be up to the high court to decided whether to reinstate Clark’s conviction, order a new trail or drop the charges and set him free.

In 2016, the state accused Clark in the “Shaken Baby Syndrome” death of his 4-month-old daughter. The state’s medical expert, Dr. Karen Lakin, testified that in her opinion, the child had been violently shaken, causing a fatal brain injury. Clark was later convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

In late October 2019, the Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in a split decision, ruling that Lakin did not provide supporting materials for her findings and her testimony should not have been allowed. They remanded the case back to circuit court for a new trial. How much, if any, of Lakin’s testimony can be admitted in a future trail will be decided by the new judge.

In making their decision, Mississippi’s highest court justices will consider arguments from both sides.

Clark and his attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo, argue that new medical science has disproved Shaken Baby Syndrome, saying without that argument, the state has no case and Clark should be released from prison to await a new trial or all charges should be dropped.

“The only issue worthy of review by (the supreme court) is whether the state should be allowed to have a second trial to produce scientific evidence which it failed to produce at the first trial,” Waide wrote in his petition.

The state says the Court of Appeals was wrong to throw out the state’s expert witness testimony about Shaken Baby Syndrome and asks the Supreme Court to reinstate Clark’s conviction.

Mississippi Special Assistant Attorney General Scott Stuart argues that if the Court of Appeals ruling is allowed to stand and become precedent, it could cause problems and set new higher standards for expert witness testimony.

“(The ruling will) take away the discretion to admit or exclude expert testimony from the trial judges of this state,” Stuart wrote.

The Supreme Court has not issued any time frame on when it will take up the case. As part of the review, the high court could look at Clark’s other arguments that the Court of Appeals did not consider in their reversal ruling.

Despite his conviction being overturned, Clark will likely remain in state prison until the Mississippi Supreme Court hands down its final ruling. In a January bond hearing, Waide argued Clark should be released.

Circuit Court Judge Kelly Mims, who took over the case following the retirement of Judge Thomas Gardner, did not agree. Mims said that since the case was still being appealed, Clark was still technically a convicted murderer and ordered him to remain in prison.

Clark has been in jail or prison for 12 years. He was originally charged with capital murder following the January 2008 death of Kylie Clark. During his first trial in 2010, he accepted a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to depraved heart murder and was sentenced to life in prison. On direct appeal, that plea was vacated by Judge Gardner on the grounds of ineffective counsel. Gardner also presided over the second trial.

This article was originally published by DJournal.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.

Police Say Infant Was Shaken By Father

Bail was set at $5,000 cash May 14 for a Coast Guard member accused of causing serious injuries to his infant daughter by shaking her.

Judge Paul Mathews set bail for Christopher Terrero, 29, of Gurdy Street in Rockland, during a hearing held in the Knox County court. Terrero was arrested May 12 and charged with Class B domestic violence aggravated assault and Class C domestic violence assault on a child younger than six years old.

The incident is alleged to have occurred April 22 at the family’s residence.

According to an affidavit filed by Rockland Police Detective Sgt. Joel Neal in court, police were contacted on April 22 when the three-month-old girl was brought to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.

The infant was diagnosed with a significant brain bleed.

Terrero told Neal he was watching the children at the house when he sneezed and woke up the three-month-old child. Terrero said the baby would not stop crying and he said he was trying to comfort her and shook her, according to the affidavit. He claimed he had not shaken her hard, but the officer said medical tests showed the child had to have been shaken hard to have suffered the significant brain bleed.

The child was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

A doctor said it is highly probable the child will suffer long-lasting effects from the injuries, according to the affidavit. The child has had seizures and is on medication to control them. The doctor said shaking baby syndrome is one of the leading causes of death for infants, the police report stated.

Terrero was still being held at the Knox County Jail in Rockland late Thursday, May 15.

His next court date is scheduled for June 25. He did not enter a plea at his initial court appearance. Pleas are not solicited prior to a grand jury hearing evidence in the case to determine if there is adequate evidence to issue an indictment.

This article was originally published by Knox.Villagesoup.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.