Mom Of 7-Week-Old Malnourished Baby Who Was Shaken To Death Jailed

A New Mexico mother whose 7-week-old daughter died of brain hemorrhage and shaken baby syndrome in 2018 has been sentenced to more than a decade in jail.

Carcia Ceballos of Las Cruces was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in jail for the death of her 7-week-old girl who died of injuries from abuse. The doctors found that the malnourished baby suffered from severe bilateral retinal hemorrhage in both eyes and global hypoxic brain injury during her death, Las Cruces Sun News reported.

Ceballos was found guilty in April on one count of intentional or reckless abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm.

Marcus Minnick, the child's 22-year-old father, was also arrested on felony child abuse charges. Minnick was accused of violently shaking the baby several times on Jan. 16, 2018, when he was alone with the baby. He later performed CPR on the infant when he found her unresponsive. Ceballos called 911 when she came back home. The unresponsive baby was rushed to a hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.

A medical examination revealed that the baby had rib fractures that appeared to be from several weeks before the incident.

Ceballos admitted to shaking her baby several times before the Jan. 16 incident when she had trouble feeding the baby. Ceballos said the baby's head went back and forth when she shook her violently. She told the police she used to poke her baby while the infant was asleep and pinch her cheeks to see "if she was still alive." The court documents also reveal that Ceballos had told another person that she wanted to "smother" her child.

Ceballos' sentencing was reduced Wednesday from the original recommended 18 years as she did not have any criminal history and the court accepted her remorse, news outlet KRQE reported.

Minnick is awaiting his trial in December 2021. He was released on bail in August 2018 after being charged with one count of reckless abuse of a child resulting in death and one count of intentional or reckless abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm.