In Michigan, Burton man competent to stand trial for shaking, injuring 'miracle baby' | Shaken Baby Syndrome

A 19-year-old Burton man has reportedly been found competent to stand trial after authorities say he severely injured a 14-month-old child by shaking him.


Zachary J. Robinett is reportedly charged with first-degree child abuse after the baby suffered numerous bruises to head and body, a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain.

He was reportedly ruled competent to stand trial Tuesday in Genesee District Court.

Court records reportedly show that an intention to assert an insanity defense has also been filed in the case.

The baby was reportedly found unresponsive after police were called to a home on Chicory Lane near Meadowcroft Drive on Feb. 11 in Burton. The baby was taken to a local hospital.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said previously that Robinett was left alone with the baby after the child's mother went to work. It appears to be a case of shaken baby syndrome, the prosecutor added.

"Doctors are referring to him as a miracle baby," said Leyton. "At first, they weren't sure he was even going to live."

Robinett is reportedly scheduled to be back in court June 12 for a preliminary exam.

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If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help babies who have been shaken, or families of babies who have died, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com

In New Mexico, Questa man charged with allegedly shaking baby | Shaken Baby Syndrome

A Questa man is reportedly being held on $50,000 cash bond amid allegations that his shook his infant son, causing serious brain injuries to the child.

Damian Stow, 19, has been charged with one count of intentional child abuse resulting in great bodily harm in the May 19 incident.

According to the probable cause statement reportedly filed by New Mexico State Police, Agent Matthew Martínez responded to Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque after doctors there suspected the three-week-old boy had been shaken.

Doctors at Presbyterian told Martínez that the child had “intercranial pressure caused by internal bleeding  in the front and rear of the skull.” In addition, doctors told Martínez they found “no fractures to suggest blunt force trauma” to the child. Doctors told Martínez it was their professional opinion that hemorrhaging in both of the baby’s eyes led them to believe that the child was “shaken in a front-to-back motion.”

While the child was reportedly undergoing tests to rule out spinal meningitis as a cause of the pressure, doctors told Martínez they were unable to perform a spinal tap or an MRI on the child because he kept having seizures.

Dr. Lisa Petersen, Presbyterian’s child abuse specialist, told Martínez that in a previous interview with Stow and the child’s mother, Stow had “minimal interaction during the interview and was focused on eating a sub sandwich.” The child’s mother, Petersen told police, said that Stow had been the child’s primary caregiver while she worked.

In an interview with police, Stow reportedly said that the 3-week-old had been congested and had had trouble breathing. The previous Tuesday (May 15), they’d taken the baby to the doctor to address the problem, Stow said. Stow claimed that on Friday, the baby had trouble breathing and “not much of appetite.” Stow said he put the baby down around 8 p.m. and when he tried to wake the child about an hour later, the baby was “limp but breathing.”

When the mother reportedly returned home from work around 11 p.m. and tried to feed the baby, she noted that he was “pale and remained limp and unresponsive,” which prompted them to take him to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was later airlifted to Presbyterian’s Pediatric Intensive Care ward.

In his interview with police, Stow reportedly demonstrated how he’d bounced his son on his shoulder, admitting that he’d bounced the baby “much harder than he’d demonstrated, although he didn’t have the strength at that moment to demonstrate the actual force used.”

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If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help babies who have been shaken, or families of babies who have died, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com

In Louisiana, Marrero dad indicted in death of his 3-month-old daughter | Shaken Baby Syndrome

A Jefferson Parish grand jury reportedly indicted a Marrero man Thursday in the death of his 3-month-old daughter, who died from what authorities say was "shaken baby syndrome." Raymond Riego Jr., 39, was charged with second-degree murder, accused in the Jan. 30 death of Madison Nicole Hughes.

The incident reportedly happened Jan. 26 or Jan. 27, inside an Annette Drive home belonging to her mother's family. Riego is originally from Buras but apparently was residing at the home, authorities have said.

The infant's maternal family reportedly told the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office she slept with Riego overnight. But early on Jan. 27, a relative who went into Riego's bedroom noticed the infant "was limp, gasping for air," Detective Travis Eserman testified during a March 12 hearing in the 24th Judicial District Court.

She was later reportedly declared brain dead, caused by "unaccidental trauma," Eserman testified. The autopsy confirmed "closed head trauma consistent with shaken baby syndrome," he testified.

Riego was initially booked with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, then reportedly booked with an additional murder charge after Madison died. The Jefferson Parish district attorney's office declined to pursue the cruelty charge, "because that's encompassed in the murder charge," Assistant District Attorney Sunny Funk said.

Riego reportedly admitted he shook the baby, but only after the autopsy, Eserman testified. "He told us he knew we wound find something at autopsy," Eserman testified. "He knew that he caused it."

Riego is held in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in lieu of a $1 million bond, Funk said. His case has been assigned to Judge Hans Liljeberg's court, records show. The case record does not reflect whether he has an attorney. His arraignment is expected to be Friday.

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence with no probation, parole or suspended sentence.

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If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help babies who have been shaken, or families of babies who have died, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com

In Arkansas, Rogers Man Arrested in Infant’s Murder | Shaken Baby Syndrome

A Rogers man has been arrested on the offense of capital murder after an 11-month-old was found not breathing, with suspicious bruises and possible shaken baby syndrome, at the 8th Street Motel, officials said.

Michael Proffitt Jr., 37, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of capital murder. Proffitt’s son is the fiancé of the infant’s mother, police said.

Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone on Wednesday filed an affidavit of probably cause requesting that Proffitt be held without bail. Stone’s office will file formal charges sometime before Proffitt’s next court date, scheduled for July 9, said legal assistant Debbie Herndon.

Proffitt was babysitting the baby when the child was injured, police said. A witness told 5NEWS that when emergency officials took the boy from the motel room, the child’s injuries were evident.

“EMT comes up here and gets the little boy and they hurry up and rush him down, and he is black and blue,” said Viola Harris, 8^TH Street Motel front desk worker.

The baby was taken to Mercy Medical Center for treatment. While the baby was in the hospital, the police department began an investigation that included interviews with family members. The baby was later taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, where he died two days later.

Proffitt told police he became frustrated when the child would not stop crying, the affidavit states. Proffitt told officers he became frustrated with the child and shook him about once a month.

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If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help babies who have been shaken, or families of babies who have died, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com

In New York, Queens Creep Admits To Shaking 2-Month-Old Daughter For Three Full Minutes; Baby Currently On Life-Support | Shaken Baby Syndrome

*Excerpt taken from HERE

Remember all those PSAs reminding people to "never shake a baby?" Well, there was a reason for those ads -- shaking a baby is incredibly dangerous (not to mention cruel and sick), a reality that a Queens baby, who currently is fighting for her life, learned the hard way.

Just to make this story slightly more despicable, the baby is only 2 months old.

According to the Queens District Attorney's Office, the baby's father, 27-year-old Israel Garcia, admitted to shaking the baby on several occasions. On Monday, he took his baby-shaking too far, and his daughter is now on life-support at a local hospital with bleeding to the brain and other life-threatening injuries.

Queens County District Attorney Richard Brown says the baby -- Maria Grodillo, who was born on March 12 -- was taken to the emergency room at Elmhurst Medical Center on Monday in an "unresponsive condition." Maria was then taken to New York University Hospital, where it was determined that she was suffering from multiple subdural hematomas (bleeding on the brain), retinal hemorrhages in the left eye (bleeding in the eye), old and new brain injuries (resulting from trauma and oxygen deprivation to the brain), multiple old rib fractures and various bruises on her left foot and back.

Doctors determined that the injuries were consistent with "non-accidental inflicted abuse head trauma," which includes Shaken Baby Syndrome. The rib fractures were determined to be consistent with an adult grabbing her and squeezing her rib cage.

According to the criminal complaint, Garcia admitted to police that earlier this month he came home from work "tired and frustrated." When his infant daughter started crying, it sent him over the edge, so he squeezed her around her torso and shook her up and down. He told police he thought he might have injured Maria's ribs at the time, but declined to tell anyone.

Garcia also admitted that on Monday he was alone with Maria when she woke up from a nap and started to cry. Rather than acting like a parent and comforting the girl, he shook her for three minutes -- until she stopped crying and appeared to go to sleep.

Maria wasn't sleeping, though, she just stopped breathing thanks to the attack from her own father.

Noticing that something was wrong, Garcia then called 911.

"According to the charges, the infant suffered severe brain and eye injuries, multiple rib fractures and various bruises on her left foot and back," Brown says. "Despite increased efforts by medical and law enforcement personnel to educate the public on the dangers of shaking a baby, we are still seeing far too many cases of children dying or being permanently disabled, both mentally and physically, at the hands of their care givers. Under no circumstances should a baby be shaken. Three seconds of shaking is all it takes to cause irreparable injury or even death." 

Garcia's been hit with one count each of first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. He was ordered held without bail. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Brown also notes that if Maria dies, the charges against Garcia would be upgraded.

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If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help babies who have been shaken, or families of babies who have died, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com

Baby Found Unresponsive at Daycare in Oklahoma - Shaken Baby Syndrome

Raven Koch, 1, of Davis Oklahoma, was reportedly found unresponsive on May 3, 2011 while in the care of the babysitter.  Raven was transferred to OU Medical Center to undergo surgery to treat an acute subdural hematoma, but sadly, the precious baby died May 4th, 2011.  


This is such a sad case, as all cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome are, knowing the horrific act is 100% preventable.  


Beautiful Raven is reportedly survived by her mother, Taryn Koch of the home, and her father, Derrick Bennett of Arkansas.  


A little girl whom loved to smile and dance, brought tons of smiles and joy to her dear family.


Ravens reported injuries include the subdural hematoma, retinal hemorrhages and a soft tissue hemorrhage in her beautiful little eyes.

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Read more: http://newsok.com/death-of-oklahoma-baby-ruled-a-homicide/article/3615837#ixzz1c92QtXPs


If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help babies who have been shaken, or families of babies who have died, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com

Vigil for Shaken Baby Syndrome Victim Aimed to Educate and Help Heal | Child Wrongful Death Lawyer

In Danville, IL, a candlelight vigil is scheduled for this week in remembrance of toddler Reagan Williams, a fatal victim of shaken baby syndrome, according to the News-Gazette.  This year marks the third anniversary of young Reagan's death, and the vigil is open to the community.  According to the autopsy report, the toddler died at age two and a half of head trauma consistent with shaken baby syndrome on July 2, 2006, while in the care of her mother, Tracy Green, and Green's boyfriend, Ryan Allhands.  Twenty-three-year-old Allhands awaits a July 20th trial and faces charges of first-degree murder for Reagan's death.

According to Reagan's paternal grandfather, Greg Williams, the vigil is not about placing blame, but about celebrating the life of the toddler, sharing memories, and coming together for healing.  Williams plans to share information about abusive head trauma (shaken baby syndrome) and domestic violence at the event, especially since so many child abuse and shaken baby syndrome cases continue to arise.  Williams believes that more education is crucial:  after Reagan died, Williams, his wife, and the baby's other grandparents joined forces to start a nonprofit organization that supports local agencies for victims of abuse and implements awareness programs on domestic violence and shaken baby syndrome.   Through the organization, Reagan's Rescue, as well as other shaken baby syndrome organizations, Williams has been able to help other grandfathers cope after losing their grandchildren in similar cases of abuse.

If you have lost a child due to shaken baby syndrome, child abuse and child injury attorney Chris Keane can help you connect with other families and organizations that can help you through the coping process.  If you believe that your child may be suffering from shaken baby syndrome, the Keane Law Firm can help you find the medical care your child needs to diagnose and treat his or her injuries.  For free answers to any questions you may have regarding shaken baby syndrome (abusive head trauma), wrongful death, or helpful programs for victims of child abuse, contact Chris Keane in an online form or call 1-888-592-KIDS.