A babysitter with severe arthritis dropped a baby she was holding as she walked down the stairs, then fell on top of the infant and killed him, police say.
Stephanie Walker, 39, allegedly lost her grasp on two month-old D’Juan Anderson on December 12 at a home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and dropped him onto a hard floor.
Walker, who has now been charged with manslaughter, then collapsed on top of D’Juan, causing multiple skull fractures that ended up killing the youngster two days later, it is claimed.
Investigators say Walker failed to get help for D’Juan after the accident, even after he stopped breathing. A doctor who treated the little boy said his life likely could have been saved had he been treated shortly after the accident.
D’Juan was being cared for by his mother’s foster mother, named as HB in court papers, after his mom went away for the weekend. Walker had agreed to step in to help out while HB ran an errand, according to court papers.
HB is said to have told police she had concerns about Walker’s arthritis, which made it difficult for her to stand-up and move around.
Walker was going down a set of steps to check on her own son when she dropped D’Juan, it is alleged, and is said to have denied all knowledge of what happened when police arrived at the house, according to Sun Post.
Walker shared what she said had happened after being arrested by police and questioned.
She faces up to 10 years behind bars if convicted of second-degree manslaughter.
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