MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

McKinley Hernandez: Colorado babysitter faces felony child abuse charges for causing a 2-year-old boy's massive brain bleed

Poloce said McKinley Hernandez was arrested without incident and jailed on a $100,000 bond

JEFFERSON, COLORADO: A Colorado babysitter is slapped with felony child abuse charges after reportedly causing a two-year-old boy's massive brain bleed that necessitated the removal of part of his skull. The Lakewood Police Department announced on X on Thursday, November 23, that a warrant was out for the arrest of 25-year-old McKinley Slone Hernandez, 9 News reports.

The department provided a further update the following day that she was arrested without incident and jailed on a $100,000 bond. The suspect was still incarcerated at Jefferson County Jail as of Monday, November 27, according to the facility's online records and is due in Jefferson County Court on December 20. 

What did the victim's mother say?

Stefanie Reichert said that Hernandez injured her two-year-old son Giovanni in September, requiring multiple surgeries to treat his subsequent brain bleed. The mother told local news station USA that part of the boy's skull had to be removed and he required another surgery after spending weeks in the hospital. 

"You never would think it would happen to you, especially by someone who you consider a friend," Reichert told the station, adding"He doesn't like strangers. Now he doesn't like the nurses and doctors. He doesn't let anybody touch him. We have to do everything for him in there." 

A GoFundMe has been launched to cover the child's medical costs

On September 1, the child was "life flighted to the children's hospital after being harmed by the hands of the trusted caregiver," the boy's family wrote in a GoFundMe launched to cover the child's medical expenses. "This situation is something that no child or parent should ever have to endure," read a September 2 update after the boy's first surgery. 

Giovanni's most recent surgery to knit the separated pieces of his skull together took place on Thanksgiving, the very same day when a warrant was issued for Hernandez's arrest. 

"We ended Thanksgiving with the best thing possible," wrote the family on their GoFundMe page. "A WARRENT [sic] ISSUED FOR THE SUSPECT. She is wanted on a $100,000 bond for felony child abuse. GET HER NAME OUT AS SHE IS WANTED BY THE LAKEWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT IN COLORADO," the statement added.

Regarding the boy's condition, the family wrote that Giovanni is "pretty swollen" and that his "right eye is [still] swollen shut."

"He slept most of the day and I'm hoping for a better tomorrow," the worried mother provided an update on her son's recovery.