HOUSTON – A 26-year-old Houston mother is facing charges after confessing to shaking her 3-month-old son to stop him from crying, according to Houston police.
Police charged Keshia Debrisha Sanchez with felony injury to a child.
According to court documents, Sanchez took her infant son to Memorial Hermann Hospital Southwest on November 3, 2011 for respiratory complications. Sanchez said the child had been diagnosed with bronchitis two months earlier and just wasn’t getting better, but a chest x-ray revealed the baby boy had healing fractures on the fifth, sixth and seventh rib.
When asked about the injuries, Sanchez told doctors her older children might have hurt the baby when they were jumping in the bed. Doctors did not quite buy that story and referred the case to Children’s Protective Services, according to police.
A CPS case worker arrived at the hospital to interview the mother.
Medical personnel also performed an MRI and found the infant had subdural hematomas on the left and cerebral atrophy. The treating physician determine d the injuries to be at least seven days old. Police said, once again, Sanchez had no explanation.
Doctors determined the injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Sanchez first told investigators that she was not responsible for the child’s brain injuries. She said the child’s father often visited with the child at her apartment and did have a problem controlling his temper, but she was not afraid to leaving the child in his care.
Police then asked Sanchez to agree to a polygraph exam.
Police said during the pre-exam interview, Sanchez confessed to shaking her baby on two separate occasions and demonstrated what she did to him with a doll.
According to court documents, Sanchez said she was frustrated because her older children would not listen and the baby would not stop crying. She said she shook him, but did not mean to hurt him.
Sanchez’s bond has been set at $30,000.
