Inset: Tonya Hamilton (Madera County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Braxton Musselman in the hospital after being allegedly injured by his babysitter Tonya Hamilton (GoFundMe).
A California babysitter shook and hurt a 3-month-old she was watching so badly that his pupil ruptured and surgeons had to remove half of his skull to relieve pressure on his brain, according to the boy’s parents and cops. The babysitter allegedly FaceTimed the parents and told them she fell on the boy and smushed him.
“Got a Facetime from the babysitter,” explained Chris Musselman, father of Braxton Musselman, to local NBC and CBS affiliates KSEE and KFPE in a joint TV interview.
“We were initially told by her that she had fallen on him and woke up and he was unresponsive at that time,” Musselman said. A doctor at the hospital, however, told them a different story.
“He explained to us that his injuries weren’t consistent with a fall… they were consistent with a baby that had been shaken,” Musselman alleged. “At that point he had no other choice as a mandatory reporter to involve CPS and involve the authorities.”
The babysitter, Tonya Hamilton, 50, was arrested and booked on “felony child abuse-related charges” after Braxton’s parents reported her to police, according to a Madera County Sheriff’s Office press release. She is currently out on bond and is due to appear in court on March 9.
“It’s been absolutely tragic,” Musselman said. “No parent should ever have to go through this. No child should ever have to be treated this way.”
Braxton was being watched on Jan. 13 when Hamilton called police to report that Braxton was unresponsive, according to KSEE and KFPE.
“The child was transported to a local hospital and rushed into emergency surgery due to severe head trauma,” the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “Medical professionals determined the injuries were not consistent with any type of fall.”
An investigation was launched and Hamilton, who is described by police as a “non-relative caregiver,” was booked on the child abuse charges.
“Shaking a baby, even for a few seconds, can cause permanent brain injury or death,” the sheriff’s office said in its release. “If you are feeling overwhelmed, place the baby in a safe location and step away. Ask for help. There is never an excuse for shaking a child.”
A GoFundMe that was launched for Braxton’s parents features a description from them describing the extent of his injuries.
“Braxton suffered a severe brain injury and a ruptured pupil,” the description says. “The brain injury required two brain surgeries with over 300 milliliters of blood needing to be drained. The brain injury and swelling is so severe they’ve had to remove the right half of his skull to take pressure off. After over a week of fighting in the ICU he has since had his breathing tube removed and has been removed from sedation.”
According to the parents, Braxton has regained very minimal movement to the left extremities and “his cry is different” now.
“You know, your babies cry and like what they want and need. And I just don’t know anymore,” Toni Nelson, Braxton’s mother, told KSEE and KFPE. “He is missing the whole right side of his skull right now. So the day that he comes home, we don’t know if he will come home with a skull or without a skull.”
