Background: Mary Bridge Children”s Hospital in Tacoma, Wash. (Google Maps). Inset: Shannon McNease (Mason County Sheriff’s Office).
Washington state authorities say a woman wrote damning Facebook messages about killing her 2-month-old daughter — and now she has been charged with attempted murder and assault.
Shannon McNease, 27, was apprehended by Mason County Sheriff’s deputies on Thursday after an investigation apparently connected to her injured baby. McNease is now in custody in Washington’s Kitsap County, where she is being held on $1 million bond.
According to Bremerton police, the baby’s father on Aug. 7 brought the girl to the emergency room, where she was found to have “suspicious” injuries. After the baby was transferred to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, doctors found that the baby had a brain bleed and “20 rib fractures and six metaphyseal fractures,” which were believed to have been caused by “non-accidental trauma.”
Further investigation by police allegedly revealed that McNease had allegedly expressed “homicidal intent” toward her baby.
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Court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate KIRO included Facebook messages allegedly sent by McNease to the baby’s father and another friend. According to those documents, McNease once wrote to the baby’s father, “I can’t stand her dude,” and that the baby was “back on her BS again.”
In a more detailed message to a friend, McNease allegedly wrote, “Like I legit want to shake her to death or throw her on top of the floor so hard she dies. Only when she’s crying and screaming though, which I guess is almost pretty much all the time at this point. Her cries make me feel like I’m gonna snap and murder.”
When McNease was interviewed by police, she reportedly admitted to writing the messages, but claimed that she was suffering from postpartum depression and in a state of “mental and emotional distress.” According to court documents, McNease told police she did not mean what she said. Other messages seemingly revealed McNease’s emotional turmoil when she told the same friend, “It’s not like I hate her. I’d die for her dude. But the stress is eating my f—ing sanity to bits. Faster and faster every day.”
According to court documents, McNease also wrote that her baby “is the realest and truest love of my life. I adore her down to her bones. I really do. I love her so f—ing much. And when she’s not crying and screaming, she’s blissful as f—.”
Police said that both parents denied any abuse and allegedly attempted to explain away the injuries by saying she was accidentally dropped and that their “cat jumped on her one time.” Medical staff who examined the little girl told police that her kinds of injuries occurred “when the extremity is pulled or twisted forcibly. They can also occur when a child is forcibly shaken. Metaphyseal fractures do not occur with routine care and handling of an infant. They do not occur from kicking or impacting a hard surface. Metaphyseal fractures are highly associated with child abuse.”
Police said that the baby survived her injuries and is in the care of relatives; KIRO reported that the baby was with her grandparents.
KIRO reported that the father of the baby has not been charged with any crimes.
McNease was charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault on a child. She is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 26.
