Shanica Callaghan: Woman accused of fatally beating, injuring 11-month-old step-grandson granted bail

QUEENS, NEW YORK: 35-years-old step-grandmother Shanica Callaghan, accused of beating her 11-month-old grandson in 2017 so brutally that he suffered a fractured skull and horrific injuries to his brain, neck and spinal cord leading to his death. Now Shanica is walking free from court six years later.

Shanica Callaghan who was hauled before the Queens in handcuffs was released on Thursday, December 21, and was seen getting into a car outside, as per reports. 

Shanica Callaghan killed a 11-month old baby in 2017

Callaghan's grandson, Jeramiah, died on September 6, 2017, with a fractured skull and injuries to his brain, neck, and spinal cord.

According to a medical examiner, he suffered severe blunt force damage to his head and torso in addition to strong, repeated acceleration and deceleration forces. 

The Texas State Department of Family and Protective Services granted an order of placement in 2016 giving Shanica Callaghan and her husband, the baby's maternal grandparents, sole custody of the youngster. Callaghan, who is a mother of three small children, was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree murder, and endangering the welfare of a child after her arrest on April 24, 2018.

Since then, the case has made its way through the legal system, and on Tuesday, December 19, early in the morning, she appeared before Judge Ushir Pandit-Durant. Callaghan, wearing high-heeled boots, a tight hairstyle, and a heavy black puffer jacket, looked down at her feet while her attorney spoke to the court. When she got out of court, she crossed the street, climbed into the passenger side of a dark blue sedan, and removed her jacket to show off a striped shirt that tucked in low.

Shanica Callaghan fabricated a story to escape from prison

In 2017, Callaghan held the infant as her husband and their three kids rode their bikes down the pavement in front of them. Before they got home at 7:30 p.m., she said Jeramiah was OK and playing normally that day. She also claimed he had no injuries.

When Callaghan brought the baby inside to nurse him, her husband remained outside their Springfield Gardens condominium on 144th Avenue near 231st Street. However, she quickly beckoned him inside in a panic. Callaghan reported to the police that she gave him a bottle and changed his diaper.  She reported that the infant started to throw up and was having trouble breathing while she was burping him.

When her husband noticed that Jeremiah was throwing up and having trouble breathing, he informed the police and promptly called an ambulance.

The baby was moved to Cohen Children's Medical Center and put on life support, where he stayed until he died a week later. 

An autopsy revealed the skull fracture in addition to these horrific injuries.''In a heart-breaking turn of events, the baby boy that today should be learning how to walk and talk is dead and buried,'' Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said at the time. Callaghan will face court again in February, and faces up to 25 years' jail if convicted.