Two ‘shaken babies’ arrests in two days

A baby boy is dead and another one is clinging to life after their babysitters allegedly violently shook the babies for crying, in two unrelated incidents, officials said.
Ana Delarosa, 26, of 104-52 39th Street in Corona, was charged on Friday, January 7 with second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly causing the death of three-month-old Addison Reinoso-Xoyatla.
“This is, sadly, the second incident that we have seen here in Queens County within as many days in which a caregiver is accused of violently shaking an infant, causing death or serious injury,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. “The fragility of a small child cannot be emphasized enough. There is no excuse for shaking a child.”
According to the charges, one of the babysitters, Delarosa, had been taking care of baby Addison at her residence in the aftermath of the 2010 holiday snowstorm. Sometime after 11 a.m. on December 29, the baby awoke and began crying. Delarosa allegedly shook the baby until he stopped crying and went limp.
“I do not have malice in my heart,” said Addison’s father, Luis Reynoso, 26, told the New York Daily News. “I think of her child, and I wouldn’t want her child to suffer, to be without a mother. We just don’t know why she did what she did.”
An examination of the child revealed that he suffered severe brain injury, as well as bleeding around the nerves that connect the eyes to the brain, both of which are common markers of shaken baby syndrome. The child died at Elmhurst General Hospital on Tuesday, January 4, after being taken off life support.
“I still feel like he’s alive, like he’s a part of me,” Reynoso told the Daily News. “He’s my angel.”
Another babysitter, Susana Gil, 26, of 33-38 103rd Street also in Corona, was charged on Thursday, January 6 with first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Gil allegedly shook her 21-month-old nephew Alexander Delgado, causing him to sustain life-threatening injuries, including brain damage.
“Instead of protecting and nurturing this helpless, innocent child, the defendant is accused of tragically assaulting him simply because he was crying,” Brown said. “Beyond that, the defendant is alleged to have compounded the damage by failing to get medical attention for the child until approximately four days later. This case is, once again, a sad reminder that never, under any circumstances, should an infant be shaken.”
According to the charges, on December 27, Gil, who became Alexander’s primary caregiver on November 1, allegedly grabbed the infant by his arms and repeatedly shook him until he stopped crying and appeared to fall asleep. It wasn’t until the morning of December 31, when the baby had difficulty breathing and became unresponsive, that 911 was called for help.
The baby was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital in an unresponsive and life-threatening condition, attributable to shaken baby syndrome, and then transferred to Cohen Children’s Medical Center for further care, where he remains is in critical, but stable condition.
If convicted, Delarosa and Gil each face up to 25 years to life in prison.
Lewis Collado, 27, who works at the auto repair shop across the street from Gil’s residence, is expecting his first child in three months. Collado said he would know exactly what to do if someone put his soon-to-be born daughter’s life at risk.
“I would kill them,” Collado said.