Background: Oklahoma County Sheriff”s Office vehicle parked outside of the Oklahoma County Detention Center. Inset: Holly Sheppard
Authorities in Oklahoma were unable to determine the person responsible for the death of an infant for years. However, a breakthrough came when a similar tragedy happened five years later, leading investigators to a crucial lead.
The incident involved a 2-month-old baby who was taken to a hospital in Oklahoma on June 14, 2023. The child was experiencing seizures and internal bleeding. Thanks to the efforts of the police, it was revealed that Holly Sheppard had been looking after the infant in Ponca City, Kay County, Oklahoma.
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Despite Sheppard, 28, being the one who contacted the authorities, she reportedly provided conflicting accounts regarding how the child sustained the injuries. According to Kay NewsCow, a police report obtained by the news outlet disclosed Sheppard’s final explanation, claiming that she accidentally tripped and dropped the baby.
The mother of the child reportedly told police she had sought out a babysitter on Facebook and hired Sheppard to watch her child three days before. The investigation progressed, and Sheppard was arrested for child abuse. In November 2024, she was given a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.
Startling new discoveries have since come to light.
Sheppard was charged on Monday with first-degree murder in the death of a child by injuring, torturing, or maiming in connection with the 2018 death of a 22-day-old infant in Oklahoma County. She is being held without bond in the Oklahoma County Detention Center.
The infant was brought to an Oklahoma City hospital in January 2018 with “non-accidental abusive head trauma,” police told local outlet KOKH. The baby died a few days later from what authorities believed was blunt force trauma to the head.
While this infant’s mother reportedly told police she, too, had found Sheppard, who was 21 at the time, on Facebook and left her child in her care, investigators were unable to determine — or prove — that Sheppard was the one watching the child when they were hurt. For more than five years, no one was charged in the case — until the 2023 tragedy.
According to Kay NewsCow, Oklahoma City police officer Corey Carden returned to the 2018 case when he heard about the Ponca City child’s injury. He reportedly spoke with a local child abuse expert and pediatrician, who found similarities in the two cases. Police are said to have recognized a pattern and presented it to the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, which led to the new charge.
Ponca City Deputy Chief of Police Josh Henderson told KOKH that Sheppard’s crimes were “inexcusable and represent a profound betrayal of the trust placed in someone responsible for a child’s care.”
“No child should ever suffer harm at the hands of those entrusted with their safety. We are grateful for the opportunity to assist other agencies across Oklahoma in their pursuit of justice in heartbreaking cases such as these,” he added.
The child injured in 2023 made “remarkable progress” in the weeks following her injury, The Bull Tulsa, a local radio station, reported at the time. A Facebook account titled “Korra’s Journey,” which appears to document the recovery of the victim, has shared updates.
When Sheppard was sentenced for the child abuse charge, the account wrote, “Tomorrow is the day. The day that we sit in that courtroom reliving all the trauma like it happened yesterday. All the horrific memories and feelings flood back as we sit and listen. Tomorrow we will be able to stand up against evil and be Korras voice.”
