Jail for baby killer, cries mom

THE MOTHER of the 18-month-old baby who died after being burnt, bitten and beaten, is calling for her child’s killer to be jailed. From her home at Mayaro yesterday, Avion King said: “I want him to go to jail because he killed my child.” Baby Shania was found dead on Friday morning after the child experienced a night of physical terror because she had urinated on the bed. Police have detained a 29-year-old relative in connection with the incident. King now has one child, three-year-old Isaiah. Shania’s 23-year-old mother said on Thursday night the relative was enraged when he awoke and found Shania had “wet” the bed.

King said her child was given a plastic potty to urinate in, and the relative insisted that she use it before going to bed. But that night, when the suspect found the child had urinated in the bed, he allegedly picked up a leather belt and dealt the child blows about her tiny body. The suspect also allegedly burnt Shania’s buttocks with wood that was burning in the outdoor fireside. “I tried to save her, but he tell me to ‘keep out, that is none of my business,’” the mother sobbed.

King added that the suspect did not believe that he had fathered the child, and would often beat the child badly. “He used to tell her to get up and pee. And if she didn’t, he would slap her and cuff her up,” the mother said. King said the suspect was released from prison last October after serving 18 months in jail for a marijuana conviction. An autopsy is expected to be conducted at the Forensic Science Centre today. Mayaro police are investigating.