infant Archives - Home Safety Tech Pros

Infant murdered by dad who claimed he was ‘playing’ with her

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:53:15 +0000

Khaliq Woods (Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office).

A Georgia man “violently squeezed” his daughter to death and then tried passing off her injuries as a result of the two of them “playing” together, telling authorities he was “tossing her in the air and catching her.”

Khaliq Woods, 29, was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated battery and first-degree child cruelty for the 2019 death of his infant daughter, Kamila Woods, at their home in Duluth, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Prosecutors outlined the case against Woods in a press release Tuesday, announcing that he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Jurors deliberated for 10 hours before finding him guilty.

“We grieve with the family of the deceased child Kamila Woods,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement. “This is a tragedy that an infant’s life was taken,” the DA added.

According to prosecutors, Woods, who was 23 years old at the time brought Kamila to Northside Duluth Medical Center himself on the morning of Nov. 30, 2019. Kamila was pronounced dead upon arrival.

“Kamila’s mother had dropped her off at Woods’ apartment the previous day,” the DA’s office explained Tuesday. “Woods told police that he had been playing with the infant that evening, tossing her in the air and catching her. He said on one of those catches, he felt the infant’s side go in, and he heard wheezing. He put her to bed around 10 p.m., that evening, and went back to check on her around 2 a.m.”

Woods told police that Kamila had not moved from her position, and that she was also refusing to take a bottle or pacifier. He claimed he checked on her again at around 6 a.m. before ordering a ride-share to take her to the hospital.

“A search warrant of Woods’ phone revealed that around 2 am, he searched for ‘symptoms of broken ribs in children’ on the internet no less than 9 times,” according to the DA’s office.

“The autopsy conducted on Kamila showed that she had suffered multiple rib fractures, a lacerated liver, and bleeding and swelling of the brain,” prosecutors said. “Evidence introduced at trial showed that Kamila’s injuries were consistent with being violently squeezed and shaken.”

DA Austin-Gatson added, “We pray that the outcome of this trial will help Kamila’s family heal.”

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Family horrified after grandmother shoots infant

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 01:47:23 +0000

Mia Desiree Harris (Butler County Sheriff’s Office).

Body camera footage from the Cincinnati suburb of Liberty Township obtained by Law&Crime shows the frantic moments as first responders worked to save an infant girl who had been shot in the head. They soon arrested the shooter — her own grandmother, Mia Desiree Harris.

Remarkably, the girl survived, though the injury had permanent consequences for her health. Defendant Harris recently pleaded guilty to a count of felonious assault. She is currently serving a sentence of nine to 12 years in prison and is eligible for parole in December 2032.

“During the incident Harris shot at several family members before intentionally shooting the child,” the Butler County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the news release.

Witnesses urgently told authorities about the badly injured baby and about Harris being the shooter.

“Mia Harris. Mia Harris,” a woman told law enforcement in footage dated Dec. 9, 2023. “Get her right now.”

A copy of the criminal complaint filed in Butler County Area 2 Court stated that Harris also “knowingly” caused “serious physical harm” to another victim, whose name is redacted, by “striking [that person] in the face with a fist.”

“Harris then broke down a locked bedroom door, after firing a handgun through the bedroom door multiple times,” the document stated.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones did not mince words when previously discussing the case with WXIX.

“It wasn’t an accident. It was on purpose. This is one of the most disgusting, vile criminal acts I’ve ever seen, shooting a 6-month-old baby. What makes it even worse is this is the baby’s grandmother,” Jones told the station. “She went and shot this child and doesn’t appear to have any remorse whatsoever. I feel sorry for the baby, the family, everybody that’s dealing with this. The doctors, the life squad people, the deputies, everybody. This is as bad as it gets.”

Jason Kandel contributed to this report.

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Mom sometimes ‘would forget’ to feed infant son who starved

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 10:52:27 +0000

Left to right: Jakob Scott and Caylin Opal Marie Monroe (Warrick County Sheriff’s Department). Inset: Silas Scott (Tribute Archive).

An Indiana mother will spend decades in prison for the murder of her 2-month-old son, who died of starvation.

Caylin Opal Marie Monroe, 23, was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Friday in the death of Silas Scott, online court records show. The father, Jakob Chance Scott, was also charged in the case. He is set to appear in court on Dec. 2.

The Warrick County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation began in February 2022 after authorities responded to 3844 Honeysuckle Drive in Warrick County about an unresponsive infant. At the home, medical units tried to revive the baby but declared the infant dead at the scene.

Authorities spent months investigating. On April 21, 2022, after authorities gathered evidence and learned that the baby had died of starvation, police questioned the couple.

An affidavit outlines statements investigators said the couple told them during interviews with authorities.

Monroe told police that the baby was born small but healthy and had difficulty growing. She said she thought there was something wrong with the baby, but she never had time to call and get a new pediatrician, the document said.

When the investigator confronted Monroe with information that her baby had been starved, she initially said she fed him. But when the investigator said there was nothing in the baby’s stomach at the autopsy and inquired if it was it normal to miss feedings, “she nodded in agreement and stated, ‘sometimes yeah,’” the affidavit said.

“Caylin stated sometimes she would be busy and not have time to feed Victim 1,” the document said. “Caylin stated that Victim 1 would miss a feeding every once in a while. Caylin agreed that there would be times where she would forget Victim 1 because he wasn’t making any noise or asleep and she was busy with the other children. Caylin stated she was on a basic routine, and sometimes she would forget to feed Victim 1.”

Scott allegedly told investigators, “I’d feed him if he was crying,” the affidavit said.

The boy’s obituary identified him as “Silas’ Shuggie Bear’ Chance-Kent Scott, of Boonville, Indiana,” son of “Jakob and Caylin (Monroe) Scott.” The obituary said he “passed away” at home. The infant has three siblings, the obituary also said.

Matt Naham contributed to this report.

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Man kidnapped, killed infant before high-speed police chase

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:46:23 +0000

Inset: Jonathan Baker (Wood County Prosecutor’s Office). Background: Authorities at the scene where Baker crashed with his daughter in the car (WTOL).

A 24-year-old Ohio man will spend the rest of his days behind bars for abducting his 2-year-old daughter from his girlfriend, fatally shooting the child twice in the head and leading police on a high-speed chase with the infant’s body still inside the vehicle. Seneca County Common Pleas Court Judge Damon Alt on Monday ordered Jonathan Baker to serve a sentence of life without parole in a state correctional facility for the 2023 slaying of young Emery, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

Alt handed down the sentence after a jury earlier this month found him guilty on charges of aggravated murder with a firearm specification and kidnapping. In addition to the life sentence, Baker was given an additional 16 1/2 years on the kidnapping charge and three years for the firearms specification.

According to a report from the Sentinel-Tribune, Baker addressed the court on Monday saying that he now understood that the killing of his daughter was something “completely evil.”

“I truly thought that day I was doing something good,” he reportedly said, adding that what he did was “absolutely horrible.” He also mentioned that he believed he was suffering from a sickness of the mind because, at the time of the murder, he had not found religion and “did not have God in his heart that day.”

Baker then reportedly asked Alt to “please have mercy” before sentencing him.

However, the judge clearly did not believe Baker’s claims about regret were real.

“Mr. Baker, you murdered your daughter … throughout the day you were afforded every opportunity to prevent that crime from happening,” Alt said, adding that it was a “senseless act” for which Baker appeared to show no genuine remorse.

Prosecutors reiterated that Baker’s newfound contrition appeared disingenuous.

“That is a level of evil that is rarely seen,” Wood County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Boos reportedly told the court in requesting Baker get the maximum sentence.

As Law&Crime previously reported, Baker on June 27, 2023, kidnapped his daughter from his girlfriend’s home and fled in a bright yellow Camaro. The car was soon seen in the city of Tiffin by an off-duty police officer who followed and kept law enforcement apprised of its location, police said.

At the outset, the fate of Emery was unknown, but initial indications did not bode well for her, police said.

“The male subject had indicated he was feeling homicidal and suicidal and had made a statement to the child’s mother that he killed the baby,” the Tiffin Police Department wrote in an initial press release. “The BOLO also advised that the subject was armed with a firearm.”

Seneca County Sheriff’s Office deputies and local police officers tried to initiate a traffic stop after receiving the Camaro’s location from the off-duty officer — but Baker was able to avoid the initial attempts to stop the car.

“The Camaro began accelerating and at a high rate of speed, erratically drove off the roadway through the front yard of one residence and crashing into another residence, knocking it off its foundation,” police said.

“The suspect vehicle rapidly accelerated and veered left off the roadway, crashing into a residence,” the department added in a follow-up press release. “No one was in the home at the time of the crash.”

The crash occurred just before 4 p.m. at a home on Sandusky Street in Tiffin — a small town some 55 miles southeast of Toledo.

Police later released dashcam footage of the brief chase that ended with seven-plus officers and deputies working together to break the Camaro’s back window to get the infant out.

Both Baker and the girl were extricated and taken to a nearby hospital after officers performed CPR.

Emery was initially found alive but succumbed to her injuries shortly after she was recovered from inside the Camaro.

In chilling 911 calls released after his arrest, the defendant, the girl’s mother, and an unidentified third male — who looped 911 dispatchers in on the group call — discuss the state of things.

“Anything you’d like to say to me before I say my goodbyes?” Baker asks.

“Jonathan [Baker], what’s going on bud?” the other man asks.

The unidentified male also tells the dispatcher, at one point, that the girl’s mother is tracking the defendant’s cellular phone location because “he forgot to turn it off.” That information was also provided to police to assist in their efforts.

In one of the 911 calls, the girl’s mother plaintively pleads with her boyfriend, using her daughter’s name: “I just want Emery.”

Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.

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Dad who had been ‘hearing things’ shot wife and infant son

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 05:25:57 +0000

Inset: David Weingarten (Colorado Springs Police Department). Background: The home in Colorado where Weingarten shot his wife and their 8-month-old son (KRDO).

A Colorado man who said he’d been hearing things before he killed his wife and infant son while their young daughter was at home will spend the rest of his life in prison.

David Weingarten, 31, was given two life sentences on Thursday in the deaths of Lizet Salinas Mijanos, 26, and their 8-month-old son Georgie Weingarten. He was convicted a day earlier of two counts of first-degree murder.

As Law&Crime previously reported, officers at approximately 6:55 p.m. on Feb. 1 responded to a 911 call from an adult male who reported a “medical emergency” in a single-family residence in the 3200 block of Heather Glen Drive, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department. Once there, first responders made contact with Weingarten, who reportedly said he had been “hearing things” before he killed Lizet and Georgie, local CBS affiliate KKTV reported.

“I just shot my wife and son,” he told the arriving officers, according to court documents obtained by the station. “I’ve been feeling not good lately and something just came over me. I don’t know what happened. I’ve been hearing things, and I don’t know what’s going on. My wife and son are both dead I believe.”

Officers then entered the residence, where they found Lizet and the baby, both of whom appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds. They were both pronounced dead on the scene.

The CSPD Violent Crimes Unit was called to the scene to take over the investigation, and Weingarten was taken into custody, authorities said. Upon questioning from detectives, Weingarten said that his son’s crying had been making him anxious and he had been having “bad thoughts,” the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

He told investigators that earlier that evening, he went to his car and grabbed the gun he kept in the vehicle, then paced around his home before deciding to shoot his wife.

Weingarten then admitted to intentionally shooting his son.

When questioned by detectives as to why he shot the infant, he allegedly indicated it was because the boy cried too much, and it made him anxious, the Gazette reported.

Lizet and Weingarten also have a 2-year-old daughter, who was not harmed.

According to KKTV, the girl has been placed in the custody of Lizet Mijanos’ sister, Lizbeth Salinas. She told KKTV that she plans to raise the girl as her own.

“Well, we are trying our best to hold up for her. We have had a lot of support from our family, the community, and our church. So we are getting all the support we need,” Lizbeth told the station.

She also said her sister’s dream was to be a good mother.

“She was always serious, but once you got to know her, she was full of joy,” she said. “She would make jokes and be the silliest person. We talked once in a while. But not as much as I wish we did.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Lizbeth with the expenses of raising the daughter.

Law&Crime’s Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.

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Mom abandoned infant to “go score”: Police

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:17:20 +0000

Inset: Kaitlyn Maire Estes (Newton County Sheriff). Background: The home where Estes allegedly abandoned her infant child (KSNW).

A 23-year-old mother in Missouri is facing felony criminal charges after she allegedly left her 4-month-old daughter home alone for an unknown period of time so she could “go score.” Kaitlyn Maire Estes was taken into custody earlier this month and charged with one count of first-degree abandonment of a child and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

According to a probable cause affidavit, an investigator with the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division at about 11:45 a.m. on Oct. 2, 2024, traveled to Estes’ home in the 3200 block of S Grand Avenue to follow up on an existing investigation.

Upon arriving at the home, the investigator repeatedly knocked on the door and said she could hear a baby crying inside. The investigator, who knew that Estes had an infant child, continued knocking for about 45 minutes before giving up and calling law enforcement.

Police responded to the home and determined that Estes’ vehicle was not on the property.

Because the front door was deadbolted from the inside, police asked the property manager to let them into the home so they could ensure the well-being of the crying baby.

“Upon entry, officers located a four-month-old female in the bedroom. The baby was wedged between the adult sized bed mattress and the wall,” police wrote in the affidavit. “A blanket had been pulled across the face of the baby. Officers removed the baby from the bed. In doing so, they noted her diaper was extremely soiled and sagging. The baby was crying and appeared to be in distress. Bruising on the face area was also observed. No other person was located in the residence.”

In addition to discovering the infant, police said they also found a handwritten note that had been “stuck to the wall of the bedroom,” which read: “Went to go score be right back.”

Authorities were unable to locate Estes, so the child was placed in the custody of the Children’s Center where she underwent a CARE exam. Doctors who performed the exam said they observed bruising on the child’s cheeks and the left side of her face as well as dermatitis and skin breakdown from the soiled diaper she had been wearing.

Estes was located three days later and placed under arrest. She was arraigned and a judge set her bond at $5,000. She remained in custody at the Newton County Jail as of Tuesday morning, records show. She is scheduled to appear in court for a bond reduction hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

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Charges against nurse accused of slamming newborn dropped

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 21:17:21 +0000

Amanda Burke with her attorney Charles C. Gottlieb, and the newborn she had been accused of endangering (News12 screenshots)

Criminal charges against a 30-year-old nurse in New York accused of “violently slamming” a newborn baby face-down into a bassinet in the neonatal intensive care unit have been dropped just hours before she was scheduled to go to trial on one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Suffolk County District Court Judge Eric Sachs on Monday formally dismissed the misdemeanor charge against Amanda Burke, her attorney confirmed to Law&Crime.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office had previously said that Burke was working at Good Samaritan Hospital’s neonatal ICU on Feb. 6, 2023, and was assigned to care for a 2-day-old baby named Nikko.

While the windows in the neonatal ICU are typically covered for privacy reasons, the covering on the bottom corner of one of the windows had come off, allowing someone outside of the unit to look in and see baby Nikko. The child’s father was recording a video of his son when the incident took place.

“Burke approached the newborn while he was lying in a bassinet, lifted him up, quickly flipped him over, and violently slammed him face down on the bassinet,” prosecutors wrote. “The infant’s father recorded a video of the incident on his cellular telephone through the nursery window. After viewing the recording, the infant’s mother confronted Burke.”

The child’s parents then showed the video of Burke slamming their child into the bassinet to other nurses and staff members at the hospital. Authorities say that the establishment took swift action, directing Burke to leave the hospital and terminating her employment within two hours of the alleged incident taking place.

Burke’s attorney, Robert C. Gottlieb, told Law&Crime that the dismissal of the charge was welcome, but came “a year too late.”

Gottlieb explained that the essential element of the endangering charge prosecutors would have to show is that Burke’s actions were “likely to cause physical injury” to Nikko. He said that nine months ago, he provided prosecutors with an expert report stating that Burke’s conduct, which was recorded, was not likely to cause Nikko injury.

However, prosecutors waited until four days before the trial was slated to begin before they spoke to their own expert, Gottlieb said. It was only when the DA’s expert also agreed that Burke’s actions were not likely to cause physical injury to Nikko that prosecutors called Gottlieb and advised they would be dropping the charges.

In their explanation to dismiss the charges, prosecutors also referenced Burke’s nurse’s licensing agency, which investigated the allegations and determined that her conduct “did not even rise to the level of gross negligence and did not warrant any action against her nurse’s license,” Gottlieb continued, noting that the DA’s office had already been informed of the agency’s decision well in advance of the decision to drop charges.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney issued the following statement to News 12 indicating that the nurse’s licensing agency’s decision played a crucial role in his office’s decision to dismiss the charge against Burke.

“Unfortunately, despite the disturbing video which captured the incident in this case, the New York State Department of Licensing found the defendant did not act with gross negligence,” he said. “As such, we could not prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”

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Baby formula recalled after suspected infant deaths

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 00:36:46 +0000

Baby formula recalled after suspected infant deaths – CBS News

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Powdered baby formula may be linked to at least five infant illnesses, including possibly two deaths, the Food and Drug Administration warned earlier this week. But there may be more cases than have been reported. Nikki Battiste has the latest.

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