A woman has been convicted of manslaughter for failing to call 911 or alert anyone in the crucial moments after she fell on a baby in a Brooklyn Center home and inflicted fatal head injuries.
Stephanie M. Walker, 41, of Minneapolis, was found guilty last week in a bench trial in Hennepin County District Court of second-degree manslaughter in connection with injuring a 13-week-old boy as she held the child while going down a flight of stairs on Dec. 12, 2020, in the 6300 block of N. Orchard Avenue.
D'Juan Duprea Lee Anderson Jr. died two days later from skull fractures and severe brain swelling, the criminal complaint read.
Walker remains jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for March 13.
A child abuse pediatrician said that had D'Juan received prompt attention, doctors could have had a better chance at treating his injuries, the complaint said.
According to police and the complaint:
D'Juan was being watched for the weekend by a woman who said she was the foster mother to the child's mother. The foster mother wanted to go to the store and gave in to Walker's pleas to watch D'Juan despite concerns about Walker's difficulty walking and standing because of severe arthritis. Other adults were in the home at the time, and police described them as extended family members.
Calls from the home alerted police to the child being hurt. Officers provided lifesaving measures before the baby was taken by emergency medical responders to a hospital. Walker initially told the officers she didn't know how D'Juan was injured.
