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DUCHESNE — Samantha Lynn Gilley stood so close to her defense attorney Thursday in 8th District Court that it was difficult to see her, and she spoke only when asked a direct question by Judge George Harmond.
In a soft voice, the slightly built 21-year-old Roosevelt woman told Harmond that while she maintained her innocence, she knew prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict her of shaking her infant daughter to death earlier this year. Then she entered a no-contest plea to child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony.
Riyln Paige Gilley was not breathing when her mother brought her to Uintah Basin Medical Center shortly before noon on Feb. 28, according to Roosevelt police. Doctors were able to revive the 2-month-old girl and stabilize her before sending her to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City.
The infant had hemorrhaging of the brain and retinas consistent with being violently shaken, doctors told police. She was removed from life support March 5 and died a short time later.
Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote told the court Thursday that an autopsy showed Riyln died as a result of closed head trauma, consistent with being shaken.
Foote told the court that he was reducing the child abuse homicide charge originally filed against Gilley from a first-degree felony to a second-degree felony, in exchange for her plea. He also agreed to recommend that she serve 150 days in jail in lieu of prison time.
Peak of crying
- Babies will cry the most at 2 mos., less at 3-5 mos.
- Can come and go.
- Won't stop crying.
- Will look like they're in pain.
- May last up to 5 hrs. in a day.
- Baby may cry more during afternoon and evening than morning.
Harmond agreed to follow the recommendation for jail time and placed Gilley on three years' probation. The judge also ordered her to take a parenting class, saying that he didn't believe she acted "intentionally or maliciously" when she caused her daughter's death.
After the hearing, Foote called Rilyn's death "a tragic mishap."
"I don't think there was any intent to cause a death," he said. "I think it was a negligence issue, and that's why we pled it the way we did."
Foote noted that Gilley was 19 years old when she got pregnant and became a parent at age 20. The baby's father and his family did not offer any support after she was born, the prosecutor said. That left Gilley to rely on her own mother for help with an infant who was taking medications for acid reflux and colic.
Research by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, based in Ogden, shows that parental frustration over infant crying is a key trigger in most cases where a child is injured or kill by shaking.
The center has identified what it calls the Period of PURPLE Crying to try to educate parents and other caregivers. The period begins at about 2 weeks of age and continues until about 3 or 4 months, according to the center's website. All infants go through it.
Foote said he would like to see something postive come from Gilley's case, something that might stop other infants from being harmed.
"I think the only way to prevent incidents like this is through education," he said. "What I'd really like to see come out of this case is some education for young mothers."
Email: gliesik@desnews.com
