Second mistrial declared in court case involving area woman accused of shaking granddaughter

~ Judge tells jury the attorneys would try to work out a plea agreement.

BENTON, Mo. -- A jury trial for a 47-year-old grandmother woman accused of child abuse for shaking her 2-month-old granddaughter ended in a mistrial Thursday as attorneys sought a plea agreement.

Prosecutors alleged Susan Garner, of Sikeston, Mo., shook her 2-month-old granddaughter in early 2004 while baby-sitting the child at her daughter's rural Scott County home. She was charged June 28, 2004, with felony abuse of a child.

"The defendant shook a 2-month-old child and that is a cruel and inhuman punishment, and she knew it," said assistant prosecuting attorney Dana Weis.

The shaking incident was discovered when the girl was taken Feb. 24 to Southeast Missouri Hospital for vomiting. While taking an X-ray of the girl for possible viral infections, three rib fractures were found on the girl's left side, said Dr. Suha Alkadry, the pediatrician who treated the girl.

The broken ribs prompted officials to investigate the possibility of child abuse, and Garner later admitted to shaking the baby four to five weeks prior.

Following three hours of deliberations, Circuit Court Judge David Dolan called out the five-man, seven-woman jury and told them a mistrial was declared because the attorneys would try to work out a plea agreement.

Weis said the specifics of the agreement would likely be worked out in the next month.

During the daylong trial, Garner testified that while she did shake the baby because it was colicky, it "wasn't long."

Doll demonstration

Using a baby doll, Garner demonstrated how she shook the child when upset that it would not stop crying.

"I caught myself like this, gently," the defendant said, holding the doll under its arms and shaking it slowly back and forth. Garner added she did not think the shaking harmed the girl, but she did stop when she noticed what she was doing.

"Is it ever OK to shake a baby?" Weis asked the defendant.

"It depends how the shaking is done," she replied.

That response differed from when Garner previously testified in a Nov. 9 trial that ended in a mistrial. When asked then if it was ever all right to shake a baby, the defendant said, "No, ma'am."

But Garner's attorney, Jim Green, said in closing arguments that Garner's shaking was not severe enough for a conviction.

"The shaking had to be such that it is cruel and inhuman punishment," Green said. "It can't be a little shaking."

But Weis argued that the shaking was cruel and inhuman, citing the defendant's previous testimony and doctors who said on the stand that the fractured ribs could have only been caused by child abuse.

In contrast, Green cited testimony of a radiologist who testified the rib injuries could not have been inflicted by how Garner was holding the child.

The child, who is 2 1/2 years old now, did not suffer long-term injuries from the shaking or broken ribs. Custody of the child was never taken away from the mother.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127