Shirley L. Sawyer (Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office).
A Louisiana babysitter has been arrested for supposedly causing the death of a 3-month-old infant while in her care for just three hours. The baby’s mother returned home to find her son unresponsive, with severe injuries including skull fractures and a brain bleed, allegedly inflicted by the sitter.
The grieving mother, Symone Anderson, expressed shock and disbelief, stating that she had known the babysitter for a while and was unaware of the tragedy that occurred in her absence.
The accused babysitter, Shirley L. Sawyer, aged 40 and residing in Lake Charles, was entrusted by Anderson to look after her son, Kairo Anderson, on January 22, as reported by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office. When Anderson came back home, she found Kairo unconscious, initially mistaking it for him being asleep.
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“The mother advised when she arrived at Sawyer’s residence, she believed the baby to be asleep, but a short time later discovered the child was limp and unresponsive, at which time she immediately transported the baby to the hospital,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release Tuesday. “After further investigation, on February 3, detectives issued a warrant for Sawyer’s arrest.”
During their investigation, cops said they interviewed hospital personnel and were informed that Kairo suffered injuries consistent with “trauma” and an assault.
“Detectives learned the baby sustained a massive brain bleed and multiple skull fractures, which are believed to be consistent with trauma,” the sheriff’s office said. “The baby was airlifted to a hospital out of town where he later died from his injuries.”
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Sawyer was taken into custody Tuesday and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center on a charge of first-degree murder. She remained behind bars Thursday with a bond of $2.5 million.
