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"Small
Reasons" to Support Our
Never Shake a Baby Campaign
Joshua
Santos, 2 years old from New Bedford,
was brutally shaken to death by his mother’s boyfriend,
Rui Novo, after the baby vomited on the carpet. According
to Assistant
District Attorney, Robert Shilling, a “very active” investigation
is underway as Novo awaits trial after a plea of not guilty.
Aidyn Casey Hudson, 8-weeks old from Brockton, suffers
serious injuries due to being shaken by his 21-year old
father, Shawn Hudson. When the boy was transferred to the
Floating Hospital for Children at New England Medical Center,
doctors found older injuries that had healed. DSS has taken
emergency custody of the child and the father has been
arraigned on charges for seriously harming his child.
Gregory
Flores, 2 months
old from Somerville, was shaken to death by his 25-year-old
father,
Joel Flores. He was left alone to care for the child
while his wife worked the late shift at a bakery.
After hearing
about the Woodward case, she took the job so that
one of them could always be with their son. Joel
Flores entered
a guilty plea of involuntary manslaughter and agreed
to a sentence of 8 to 10 years.
Jacob
Lyons, 2 weeks old from Brockton, died 12 hours after
his father called 911 to report that his son was not breathing.
The 5-pound 8-ounce baby was violently shaken by his father
while his wife was out and their two older children, ages
4 and 10 were playing outside. Mike Lyons was described
as quiet and protective of his children and had no previous
criminal record. He was indicted for second-degree murder.
Matthew
Eappen, 8˝ months old of Newton, died 5 days after sustaining
a fractured skull and blood clot in the brain. Louise Woodward,
Matthew’s 19 year-old au pair, who admitted she might have
placed the baby down roughly and lightly shaken him, was
convicted by a jury of second-degree murder. Judge Hiller
Zobel later reduced the conviction to a finding of involuntary
manslaughter. He then freed Woodward by sentencing her
to
the 279 days she had already spent in prison awaiting trial.
Wayne
Fuller,
5 months old of Haverhill, suffered extreme injuries as
a result of a violent shaking by his father Wayne Fuller,
Sr. who was caring for the child while the baby’s 19-year-old
mother was at work. The child will never
function beyond a one-month-old level. His father was convicted
of assault and battery on a child and is serving a seven-year
sentence at MCI Framingham.
Aaron
Brown, 10 weeks old of Brockton, was left severely brain
damaged after his father, Leroy Brown, shook him. Elsa Lashley,
Aaron’s mother, returned home from her job as a security
worker at a Boston hotel and found her son squirming and
moaning in his crib. Aaron was diagnosed with severe brain
damage. The father was convicted of assault and battery
on a child and is serving a 3-year sentence. Aaron is unable
to see, walk or speak. He is cared for at home at a cost
of $85,000 per year.
Joshua
Rabaiotti, 4 months old of Methuen, died of brain hemorrhaging
when his 25-year-old father, who was babysitting, shook
him violently after the baby spit up. The incident occurred
after he returned from his night job as a UPS worker and
after the child's mother left for her day job. He was sentenced
to 18 to 20 years in Walpole for the manslaughter.
Nathan
Cabral, 5 months old of Ware, suffered permanent brain
dysfunction and blindness at the hands of his 24-year-old
mother. Authorities said she injured her son over a period
of weeks by shaking and throwing the tiny boy on the bed
and floor. According to observers, “The baby was crying
because he was hungry or tired.” The DSS-involved mother
was found guilty of assault and battery and was sentenced
to 15 to 20 years at MCI Framingham.
Matthew
Vance, 23 months old of Lawrence, died of massive head
injuries from “a forceful or high velocity shaking” at
the hands of his 28-year-old stepfather. The child, who
lived
with his natural father, died during a 30-day DSS and court-approved
visitation with his mother and stepfather. The stepfather
was sentenced to 20 years in the death.
Raymond
Wood, Jr., 8 months old of Fall River, died of injuries
sustained when his mother's 24-year-old boyfriend shook
the baby and struck his head against the floor because he
couldn't control the baby's crying. A physician who testified
in the case said the shaking was so extreme that “the retina
was actually pulled from the back of the eyeball,” causing
immediate blindness. The boyfriend was sentenced to 18
to
20 years for manslaughter.
Christine
Andrews, 4 months old of East Boston, was left severely
brain damaged as a result of violent shaking and slamming
against her crib and wall by her 25-year-old mother who
was convicted of assault/battery and mayhem. Chrissy is
now blind, unable to speak or walk and is fed through a
tube. She lives in the care of her grandmother, Barbara
Andrews, who attends to her every need and who has become
a national spokesperson for SBS prevention.
Brittany
Branch, 11 months old of Brighton, died of trauma suffered
from a violent shaking by her 24-year-old mother who could
not make her baby stop crying. The incident occurred 11
days after Brittany was released from foster care and ordered
back to her mother by the court, which was not informed
by DSS of injuries during a previous visit with the mother.
Jeannie
Cavallaro, 6 months old of Everett, suffered permanent
brain injury when her 30-year-old stepfather shook her violently.
According to a physician in the case, “the force was equivalent
to a fall from a 10 story building.” Jeannie will be in
a vegetative state for the rest of her life. The stepfather
received a 30-month jail sentence.
Colleen
Haskard, a 5-week old twin of Medford, died from Shaken
Baby Syndrome and her twin sister, Kayla, suffered retinal
hemorrhaging and abdominal bruising as a result of shaking.
Court testimony showed that when the babies began crying
at night, their father would routinely pull them out of
their crib by a leg or arm, hold them around the chest
and
shake them. The father was sentenced to 15 to 20 years
in Walpole State Prison for manslaughter.
Laura
Cashin, 7 months old of Dracut, died four days after
being violently shaken by her 26-year-old babysitter after
the child vomited. The autopsy showed evidence of recent
and past violent shaking. Although a nurse testified that
the babysitter told her, “she shook her so bad she thought
she broke her neck,” the judge acquitted the sitter of
manslaughter charges saying the prosecution had failed
to prove its case
beyond a reasonable doubt.
Christopher
Livesey, 1 month old of Bridgewater, died from blunt
head trauma and Shaken Baby Syndrome after he was left
in
the care of his 23-year-old father, a construction worker
with no history of mental illness, no police record or
history
of drug abuse. The father was charged with murder.
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