A 6-week-old infant might be injured for life, allegedly at the hands of his mother.
The Millbrook Police Department arrested Shelia Lashun McMullin, 27, of Millbrook, on Oct. 21 while it was investigating why McMullin’s young son had to be transported to Children’s Hospital on Oct. 17 after sustaining brain injuries between 1 and 3 p.m. that day. The next day the Elmore County Department of Human Resources was contacted by staff at Children’s Hospital, which stated the child had injuries consistent with being shaken and the staff was concerned for the child’s safety.
“(A DHR representative) was advised that it was evident that (the infant) had suffered some sort of head trauma or abuse and that there was bleeding to the brain consistent with being shaken,” court documents state. “The infant was also suffering from seizures believed to be as a result of his injuries.”
According to court documents, DHR spoke with McMullin who stated the infant was left with her mother in Wetumpka on Oct. 16 to allow McMullin and her boyfriend, the father of the infant, to go on a date. McMullin returned to Wetumpka to pick up the infant Oct. 17 who took a bottle before they left for Millbrook about 10:30 a.m.
Court records state the infant’s father left for work before 1 p.m., leaving the infant alone at the Millbrook home with McMullin.
According to court documents, the mother told authorities she placed the infant in a swing and he slept. The infant woke up fussy a few minutes later. McMullin again attempted to calm the infant. The infant’s mother noticed seizures about 3 p.m., she said.
In speaking with law enforcement, McMullin admitted to shaking the infant out of frustration due to her attempting to clean the house and the child being fussy. She told police she didn’t mean to cause the injuries.
“Upon questioning, Shelia admitted to shaking (the infant) until he passed out at which point in time she placed him in a swing,” court documents state. “Shelia stated (the infant) woke up after (roughly 10 minutes) and that shortly afterward she noticed jerking in his hand and leg which were determined to be seizures of the child.”
Doctors at Children’s told investigators the infant was intubated and medicated to stop the seizure activity, which lasted approximately two days. Court documents state imaging at Children’s showed brain bleeds and mixing of blood and spinal fluid consistent with being shaken.
“(The infant) would have gone unconscious and approximately 30 minutes to an hour later would start vomiting due to brain swelling and seizures would follow around the same time upon sustaining the injury,” documents state.
Medical staff told police it would be readily apparent something was wrong, according to court documents.
Medical staff advised when being placed under a ventilator under these circumstances virtually no child comes out without some sort of disability. Those can range from a visual impairment to ADHD or a learning disorder on the milder side to severe mental disability and cerebral palsy on the more severe end of the spectrum.
“It’s too early to tell; it was unlikely that (the infant) would come out of the injury normal,” doctors stated in court records.
Doctors told authorities the infant could be hospitalized for up to two weeks. They told investigators about 20 to 25% of babies with similar injuries die and 80% of the survivors have some sort of long-term disability.
McMullin was taken to the Elmore County Jail and charged with aggravated child abuse. An Aniah's Law hearing was requested but McMullin bonded out of jail Tuesday night. Court records and the Elmore County Jail roster do not list a bond amount as of Wednesday afternoon.
