An Illinois mother reportedly accused of shaking and injuring her newborn boy was ordered held Saturday on $200,000 bail.
Prosecutors said Victoria Davis, 25, took her 2-month-old to the University of Illinois Hospital emergency room on March 1 and said the baby had been vomiting and showing seizure-like symptoms for two days.
Assistant State's Attorney Bob Groebner said doctors there diagnosed the boy with multiple skull fractures and extensive multi-layer retinal hemorrhaging, which he said was consistent with blunt-force trauma and shaken baby syndrome.
Police said Davis, of the 6600 block of South Drexel Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood, offered no explanation for her child's injuries. She was the child's only caregiver, Groebner said.
The Department of Children and Family Services was reportedly notified, Groebner said, and another doctor later reviewed the findings of the University of Illinois physicians. That doctor also concluded the child's injuries were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, Groebner said.
The prosecutor said that brain damage reportedly can't be ruled out and that there are possible wrist and ankle fractures that can't yet be diagnosed. The boy, born in December, is in stable condition, Groebner said.
Police reportedly arrested Davis at her home Thursday afternoon, and she faces a felony charge of aggravated battery to a child. In bond court Saturday, a public defender told Judge Laura Marie Sullivan that Davis is a military veteran who has post-traumatic stress disorder.
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 https://www.keanelaw.com
