10-year-old girl charged with manslaughter in death of Clinton (Maine) baby

[Maine-ah]

Last edited Fri Aug 31, 2012, 08:51 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: BDN

FAIRFIELD, Maine — A 10-year-old girl has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 3-month-old baby last month.

John Martin of Skowhegan, the girl’s attorney, was served with a court summons Thursday afternoon, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said in a press release. The girl is scheduled to appear in Skowhegan District Court on Monday, Oct. 22.

The girl’s name is being withheld by police.

McCausland would not say if the girl was the baby sitter of the infant.



Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/30/news/mid-maine/10-year-old-girl-charged-with-manslaughter-in-death-of-clinton-baby/

---

I've been following this story, and this is certainly not what I was expecting.

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/29/news/mid-maine/death-of-clinton-baby-investigated-as-homicide/

Edit: why the hell The Daily Mail has more info, I don't know, but here it is.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196158/Girl-aged-TEN-charged-manslaughter-babys-death.html

"Nicole Greenaway, the infant’s mother, told The Bangor Daily News a toxicology report stated a medication was found in the infant’s system that was the very same medication taken by the 10-year-old girl.
'She [also] suffocated her by putting her hands over her face,' Greenaway said Thursday night. 'There are bruises all over her face.'

I was hoping this was an accident, but it looks like it's not. Good lord.

another edit for another thought: I guess it's possible the baby was crying and woke the ten year old up. Perhaps (trying to think like a 10 y.o) she thought the baby was sick and needed medicine. Perhaps she covered her mouth to stop the crying - so many possibilities.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Me neither!

[Maine-ah]

2. I hope it was an accident.

so sad for everyone involved. A baby dead, and a ten year old who's life hangs in our justice system. From what I've seen in the comments, the 10 year old is the babysitter's daughter.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Yeah, I really hope the child didn't mean it, whatever happened. :^(

[alp227]

16. There's gotta be more to this story.

Neither linked article explained what kind of injuries the baby suffered so that the reader could get a clue what happened.

[Maine-ah]

20. the police are withholding all of that info.

[shanti]

22. the article may have been updated

because it said the infant had bruises on her face and medication in her system which matched that which the sitter was taking.

[Maine-ah]

24. kicking for added new info...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. What are the parents of the 10 year old accused like? nt

[Maine-ah]

11. no clue.

they haven't really released much info.

[4th law of robotics]

5. At 10?

I really doubt she intended to kill the kid or had the mental capacity to be deemed negligent.

[Heather MC]

6. I have a ten year old he is smart enough to know not to kill a baby

I have not read the story, but I am surrounded by 10 year olds all the time, unless this child is special needs
a ten year old is very very smart.
I started baby sitting when I was 10, I knew at 10 that killing a baby was not right

Again I have not read the story yet

[cali]

7. sorry, it's beyond fucked up to use a 10 year old as a babysitter.

I don't know where to begin with your post. some 10 years old children are very smart. others aren't. but that has jack to do with the maturity level of a 10 year old. And 10 year old children are generally NOT mature enough to babysit and should not be expected to do so.

It sounds like they're charging the kid as an adult (I hope I'm wrong). That would be obscene.

[hamsterjill]

8. Thank you for the dose of common sense!

A ten year old should not be babysitting without adult supervision herself.

[rebecca_herman]

23. There was an adult there

The 10 year old's mother, apparently. She must have been in another room or something. I would think most 10 year olds would know that this would hurt a baby, but it's possible there's something troubled about this child. Personally, I was always very good and gentle with babies as a child (and I didn't even have any younger siblings, so I guess it just came naturally) and when I was young (like 8-10 years old) a few times I "babysat" young babies (which was mostly just holding them and playing with toys and keeping them entertained) but there were adults in a nearby room so I wasn't really alone with them. So I don't think the babysitter was for sure negligent in perhaps leaving the baby in another room with her 10 year old while she did something in another part of the house, if there was no indication her child would do something like this. Now if she knew her child was troubled or she actually left them alone in the house for a time, that is negligent IMO.

[Fumesucker]

13. Never mind cali, she comes across that way quite often.. n/t

[yardwork]

10. The article says that the ten year old was not the babysitter. She was the daughter of the sitter.

[Maine-ah]

12. the 10 year old is the daughter of the baby sitter.

[cali]

27. so what? I'm responding to a post

[azurnoir]

21. The 10 year olds mother was babysitting according to the article

Nicole Greenaway said the 10-year-old is the daughter of a woman she works with at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Waterville. Greenaway said the woman was baby-sitting Brooklyn before she died.

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/30/news/mid-maine/10-year-old-girl-charged-with-manslaughter-in-death-of-clinton-baby/

[cali]

28. read the post I'm responding to.

[wordpix]

26. +1000 I occasionally, for short periods, had a 12 y.o. sitter when her mother was present

and I got to know the mother first. The girl did well with my daughter but the deal was she had to be close to home with my girl, within shouting distance of her mom.

Anyone who hands their infant off to a 10 y.o. is an idiot and should not be a parent in the first place.

[magical thyme]

29. being mature enough to babysit is quite a bit more than knowing that killing is wrong

The maturity to handle an emergency situation that might arise, the sustained focus, and so much more.

10 is far too young to babysit.

[Scairp]

17. Thank you

Last edited Thu Aug 30, 2012, 07:09 PM - Edit history (1)

It's a waste of time and is increasing the trauma to this kid. They won't say what exactly happened to the baby so we have no way of understanding why they are even charging her. And keeping her until 21 is not an option. 11 years, the remainder of her childhood? Screw that. That would be cruel and unusual, IMO.

[Enrique]

14. I have a theory about what the girl looks like

I see stories about children being charged with crimes, sometimes they show a picture of the kid and I say "of course!"

Once in a while I'm surprised and the child is white.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Prepare to be surprised...

It's possible but highly unlikely that this child is not white.

Wiki entry for Clinton, ME:
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 3,340 people, 1,278 households, and 953 families residing in the town. ... The racial makeup of the town was 98.08% White, 0.12% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.


I wonder whether they're charging her with juvenile manslaughter as opposed to adult manslaughter. The former is a possible charge in ME and as a juvenile offense it would limit her incarceration to age 21.

[Scairp]

18. I would say she is definitely white

Those small towns in New England tend to be extraordinarily white so I would be surprised if she was any other race or ethnicity.

[magical thyme]

30. I have a theory about what the girl looks like too...very unlike yours

I live in Maine, near the coast, so there are occasional black faces around. Inland "cities?" A few black faces.

Skowhegan? Rural inland ski country? She's as white as the snow she plays in.

[McCamy Taylor]

19. Manslaughter does not mean willful murder.

For instance, if she shook the baby, this could have caused brain injury, but a 10 year old might not know that. Or, she could have placed her in the bathtub not realizing that a baby that young could drown. Or, she gave her a toy that was a choking hazard. Or left a child gate unlocked at the top of the stairs. Or left open medication where the baby could get it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. She gave it some of her own medication, then covered its face in order to try and

suffocate it, according to the news update. Still could just be an overwhelmed 10 year old trying to quiet a crying, screaming baby. (But I will leave room for the possibility that there may have been a more malicious intent behind it.)

[TeeYiYi]

31. "so many possibilities"...

TYY