Inset: Shidae Brown (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Charlotte, North Carolina, apartment complex where police say a 7-month-old boy was abused and seriously injured while in Brown’s care (Google Maps).
A Charlotte mother says she video-called her 7-month-old son while he was with a babysitter and saw no obvious signs that anything was wrong. Hours later, police say, she was told to get to the hospital, where the infant had been intubated after suffering a skull fracture and a severe brain injury.
The babysitter, 28-year-old Shidae Brown of Charlotte, has been charged with intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. Authorities allege Brown was responsible for the injuries, rejecting her account that the child was hurt after falling from a couch.
“The victim’s injuries (skull fractures, axonal shearing) are severe and have resulted in the victim being intubated,” an arrest affidavit says. “These injuries are also consistent with nonaccidental trauma.”
According to police, the boy’s mother left him in Brown’s care on the evening of Sept. 7. The next day, the mother said she FaceTimed with Brown and her son, who appeared to be fine during the call.
Later that evening, Brown called the mother and told her to meet them at the hospital, the affidavit states. Brown allegedly said the baby “was not well” and had fallen from a couch earlier that day.
When the mother arrived at the hospital, her son had already been intubated.
Brown told investigators she was alone with the infant when he was hurt and maintained that the couch fall caused his injuries, according to the affidavit. “She denied any other accident occurring to the victim,” the document states.
Investigators said the seriousness of the baby’s injuries, along with Brown’s admission that she was the sole caregiver at the time, prompted them to pursue criminal charges. Brown was arrested two days later.
The infant’s condition was not known as of Tuesday.
Brown was ordered to be held at the Mecklenburg County Jail on a $2 million bond.
The post Hours after mom FaceTimes with her 7-month-old and babysitter, she gets horrifying call saying the child is intubated with skull fracture and brain injury: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.