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SALT LAKE CITY — A 1-year-old boy will have permanent brain injuries after his babysitter shook him in frustration and then placed him in his playpen where he hit his head on the wall, according to court documents.
Kelsey Autumn Briceno, 27, of Magna, was charged Friday with child abuse, a second-degree felony, in 3rd District Court.
On Nov. 28 Unified police responded to a report of a 1-year-old boy who had fallen down the stairs at his babysitter's home, the charges state. According to court documents, the child was transported to Primary Children's Hospital where doctors said his injuries were not consistent with falling down the stairs.
The boy had epidural and subdural brain hemorrhages to the left side of his head and a portion of his skull had to be removed to relieve swelling, police said.
"If (the boy) survives these injuries, the brain will not function as it would have pre-injury," the charges state.
During a third interview with police, Briceno said the 1-year-old didn't fall down the stairs and she made up the story because she was "scared and she knows what she did was wrong."
According to court documents, Briceno was upstairs helping the boy's sister in the bathroom when the boy, who was downstairs, wouldn't stop crying and screaming. She told police she was very frustrated with the child and "didn't feel herself."
Briceno picked up the baby to console him but then shook him "a few times at least," court documents state.
She then placed him in his playpen but he "wiggled out of her arms and hit his head on the wall" and wasn't responding to her while he laid in the playpen, the charges state.
