Overnight nanny accused of shaking six-week-old baby

SALT LAKE CITY – A family’s overnight nanny is being accused of shaking their six-week-old baby when the child appeared to be behaving abnormally after being in the nanny’s care.

According to an affidavit, Lindsay Johnson, 32, is facing one charge of aggravated child abuse after doctors determined the baby had brain injuries following overnight care.

On Wednesday, the six-week-old baby was admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for brain injuries that physicians said were caused by “non-accidental trauma,” and found brain injuries that were consistent with shaking baby syndrome, charging documents state.

In the day leading up to the baby’s hospital visit, only their mother, father, and nanny reportedly had custody of the baby.

Charging documents state that both parents reported their baby was “healthy and normal when the parents relinquished custody of the child to the night nanny.”

At approximately 7 a.m. on Wednesday, documents stated that the baby was back in the parent’s care when they noticed their baby was not responding normally and seemed to be experiencing seizures.

The baby was then taken to the hospital, where doctors determined the baby had internal head trauma and a fractured rib, which are injuries doctors reported to be common with patients who have been shaken, documents state.

“Johnson was the only other individual to have custody of the child after the child was last seen healthy and normal and the last person to be in the child’s presence when the child was discovered to have injuries,” the affidavit reports.