A man from Ohio reportedly confessed to the authorities that he forcefully threw a 15-month-old baby onto the floor because she was continuously crying. This horrifying incident resulted in severe injuries that tragically led to the baby girl’s death.
On December 19, Vivian Gardner, the toddler, passed away at Dayton Children’s Hospital. Her injuries had occurred two weeks earlier when Michael Mayor was entrusted with her care by his wife, who offers babysitting services in the neighborhood. She had left the baby with Mayor on December 5 while she was taking other children to school.
Upon returning home, Mayor’s wife discovered the baby sleeping on the floor. Alarmed by the fact that the baby had not woken up by 3 p.m., she immediately contacted 911. She informed the dispatchers that the baby appeared pale, had head bruises, and she was unable to determine their cause, as per details from a police report cited by WHIO.
The child was ultimately flown to Dayton Children’s Hospital for treatment, where a doctor there said she had a fracture in the rear of her skull, a subdural hematoma, and other “complex” injuries that were caused by a “massive impact.”
After discussing the case with prosecutors, police took Mayor into custody.
In an interview, Mayor told detectives that the little girl wouldn’t stop crying when he was trying to put her down for a nap.
“He stated he ‘shook’ her and when she cried louder, he began to ‘slam’ her on the floor of the bedroom,” the police report said. “He stated this was not done on the blankets and he did this several times until she stopped crying.”
At that point, the report says, Mayor said he thought she had fallen alseep, so he walked away.
He was charged at that time with felonious assault and three counts of endangering children. After the baby’s death, court documents were filed saying that the child “passed away as a result of the injuries inflicted upon her by” Mayor, but he has not yet been charged with her death.
He is being held on a $1 million bond and has a hearing scheduled for January 2.
