Mother, father charged after baby’s death
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Facing the possibility of up to 25 years in prison on aggravated child neglect charges are the baby’s father, Jesus T. Hernandez, 21, and grandmother, Susan A. Green, 36. The baby’s mother, a 14-year-old whose name has not been released by authorities, will be charged as a juvenile for the baby’s death.
The baby, Anna Lashae Taylor, died Oct. 26 at her home on Pepper Branch Road. The girl was found dead by her parents when they awoke as authorities say the infant was apparently sleeping between them. Investigators are unsure if one of the parents rolled over on the baby during the night or perhaps if a blanket may have been thrown over the child’s head while her parents slept.
In addition to the aforementioned possibilities, State Forensic Medical Examiner Dr. Bruce Levy wrote in the autopsy report that he could not rule out the death being intentional. He listed the cause of death as asphyxiation and the manner of death as undetermined.
According to District Attorney General Dale Potter, the cause of death is not all that concerns prosecutors. In addition to the asphyxiation revelation, Levy discovered the baby had a blood alcohol reading of .04, leaving investigators wondering how the baby was able to ingest alcohol. Levy also found no signs of seizure medicine in the baby’s system, with the doctor noting the baby had been prescribed the medicine. Failure to give the baby’s its medicine, Levy found, constituted medical neglect.
Both Green and Hernandez have been charged with aggravated child neglect, a crime which carries 15 to 25 years in prison. The teenage mother of the baby will also be charged with aggravated child neglect, but her charges will be on the juvenile level, meaning her maximum punishment would be confinement with the Department of Youth Services until her 19th birthday.
Green and Hernandez have also been charged with statutory rape. Hernandez is charged because he allegedly had sex with and impregnated the girl, who was then 13. Green is charged because she permitted Hernandez and her underage daughter to have sex in her home.
Both Hernandez and Green remain held awaiting their trial which has been set for June 9 of next year.