GUILTY TX - Shantaniqua Scott for trying to smother her baby, Fort Worth, 2010

I didn't realize that the baby had had a prior operation. Is there any more information about past medical interventions?

ITA, about the mother's demeanor. She does look bored--not furtive or frenzied or even angry. Just bored.

Missizzy said:

I didn't realize that the baby had had a prior operation. Is there any more information about past medical interventions?

ITA, about the mother's demeanor. She does look bored--not furtive or frenzied or even angry. Just bored.

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I believe it was mentioned in the news report (Video) posted at the beginning. It states at first the docs thought it was acid reflux and even did an operation on the baby, but then became suspicious when the baby stopped breathing once again and thats when they installed the video camera.

I'm glad they caught her on video. Lock her up for many years. She is cold and unfeeling. This isn't Munchausen's syndrome. This is sociopathy IMO.

In rereading this thread, I'm wondering if the woman's crimes were recorded or actively monitored. If they were recorded, did the nurse just happen to walk in the room at a critical moment? If she did, that's either a huge coincidence or a miracle (or both).

I think the camera must have been monitored--possibly continuously at the nurse's station. If so, just how much abuse did the hospital expect the baby to endure? My guess is that most nurses don't bank on having to do this level of surveillance while in nursing school. I wonder if they are even trained in this skill or if it's left to a LEO. In a situation like this, you'd need someone with eyes glued to the monitor.

I do not believe the cameras were monitored in real time. The nurse likely walked in by coincidence. It would not be a huge coincidence because it's a hospital and presumably nurses would walk in and out all the time. Because after the nurse walked out, the mother did it again and for a longer time. Why didn't the nurse walk back in quickly if they were monitoring it in real time and for whatever reason decided one time was not enough? I just don't see the hospital allowing the mother to do it again if they saw her do it the first time anyway. The articles aren't clear on this, but this one implies they checked the video later, after the child already coded.

"Webb said that the doctor's suspicions were confirmed July 16 when a code alarm sounded, indicating that the boy's vital signs were failing. Medical personnel rushed in and revived the baby, but a check of the video showed Scott pressing a blanket, then her hand over the infant's face to block his breathing."

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/18/3086080/teen-mother-repeatedly-tried-to.html#ixzz1NPnPnb8Y

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/18/3086080/teen-mother-repeatedly-tried-to.html

I think the baby was hooked to monitors that monitored heart rate and breathing considering he had been having trouble breathing and had an operation. Once he wasnt breathing, they went off and alerted the nurses. I dont think the video was real time either.

not_my_kids said:

With all due respect, 20 seconds plus 1 minute 14 seconds is 1 minute and 34 seconds of inhibited breathing. I can see setting the cameras up to catch her in the act if they already suspected that this is what was going on, but they had her after the first time, and the child was only subjected to 20 seconds of asphyxia. They then allowed the child to undergo another 1 minute and 14 seconds of this before they stopped it...If you ask me, it went way too far.

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Do they say if the video surveillance was being actively monitored or did they just see that afterwards when they replayed the tape? I am wondering if they suspected enough to put the camera in there but not so much that there was a person dedicated to simply watching that live video all day.

If they were aware as it was happening then I agree, that went on too long. Lucky little one to be alive.

tlcox said:

Do they say if the video surveillance was being actively monitored or did they just see that afterwards when they replayed the tape? I am wondering if they suspected enough to put the camera in there but not so much that there was a person dedicated to simply watching that live video all day.

If they were aware as it was happening then I agree, that went on too long. Lucky little one to be alive.

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Poor little baby. If I live to be a million years old, I will NEVER understand how a mother can turn on a baby......I remember so many nights spent watching my babies sleep, just loving how sweet and beautiful they were. I would have chopped off my arms and legs before I would have caused them pain.

this is not to say that I don't want the mom to be punished, because I hope she is punished BIG TIME, and I hope she never, ever is able to hurt another child, but there has got to be something wrong inside of her brain to allow her to do something like this.

Thank God for the suspicions of the health care providers, thank God for the video tape evidence.

Awful. What struck me on the video was her turning her head away from the baby after she situated the hand/blanket over its mouth and nose and applied pressure. As if she couldn't bring herself to watch what she herself was doing. To me that shows a consciousness of guilt as much as her quickly ceasing when the nurse came in only to begin again after the nurse had left.

Speaking as a former student nurse, we're taught about MBP, signs and symptoms and syndromes, and to whom to report suspicions (LE, management...).

I will also say that while some ped rooms are monitored via video, I never saw a transmitted picture, a real-time video, or even an observational camera thingy.

Yes, we're in and out all the time. No, we don't let people hurt our patients (and the patient is the one in the bed...).

I would bet a nickel this was not real-time monitored...because if I knew it was going on the first time, I'd've citizen arrested the Mom...and I'd only have known if I saw it happening on a monitor somewhere. And I know that most RNs would not hesitate to do the same...if they knew it was going on.

I also have not watched the vid posted here. I can't bring myself to do so. I had the hardest rotation in pediatrics; I'd rather any other floor than that.

JMHO, as always.

Best-
Herding Cats

She was sentenced in Tarrant County in May 2011 to 25 years for injury to a child...

And then she was also convicted of 2 counts of aggravated assault in Mclennan County in October 2011. She got 10 years for each count.

Maximum sentence date - 2045-07-16
Eligible for parole - 2023-01-14

SID number - 08642526
Date of birth - 1992-08-29

http://offender.tdcj.state.tx.us/OffenderSearch/