Arthritic Minnesota babysitter drops 2-month-old and collapses on him, fails to get help to save infant's life
A 39-year-old Minnesota babysitter with severe arthritis is facing manslaughter charges after she dropped a two-month-old child, leading to his death. Stephanie Walker allegedly lost hold on infant D'Juan Anderson on December 12 at a home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and dropped him on a hard floor. Furthermore, she collapsed on top of D'Juan, causing multiple skull fractures that led to the baby's death two days later.
Investigators say that Walker did not get help for D'Juan after the accident, even though he had stopped breathing. A doctor, who treated the youngster, said that his life could have been saved had he been treated after the accident. D'Juan was being looked after by his mother's foster mother, named as HB in court papers, after his own mother had stepped out for the weekend. A pediatrician, who is knowledgeable about child abuse, told police that children with more severe head injuries have survived when medical treatmentn was administered to them urgently.
Walker had decided to step in to help, while HB ran an errand. HB reportedly conveyed her concerns to the police about Walker's arthritis, as it made it difficult for her to stand up and move around. Walker heard her own son downstairs, and so she picked up the two-month old and started walking. But she dropped D'Juan, fell on top of him on a concrete floor, covered with linoleum. Walker confessed that she did not call 911 or admit the incident to anyone in the home, even after the child stopped breathing.
According to the criminal complaint, Brooklyn Center Police Officers were dispatched to a residence in the 6300 block of Orchard Avenue on a report of an unconscious baby. About 30 to 45 minutes passed between the fall and the time the baby stopped breathing, a medical investigation showed.The officers, who arrived on the scene, found a 2-month-old unconscious male, identified as Anderson by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, and tried life saving measures before he was transported to the hospital. Doctors said that he had multiple skull fractures and brain swelling. Anderson died as a result of his injuries on December 14.
Officers interrogated three adults who were present at the home as well. At first, Walker denied what happened when the police arrived at the house. She only started talking after she was arrested by police and questioned. She is now faced with the grim prospect of 10 years behind bars, if she is convinced of second-degree manslaughter.
This is definitely not the first case of carelessness and sheer negligence. Just last month, there was a case about a pair of twins who were left in the care of their babysitter, as their parents had left the house for a condolence visit. The twins decided to jump in the pool, and drowned, while the nanny had apparently left to use the restroom. However, CCTV footage showed she climbed the staircase and upstairs into her room, leaving the children alone downstairs. There have been other ghastly tales of nannies who forcefed a child to death by giving her half a pint of milk in less than 20 seconds.