New York Woman Accused of Shaking Baby Charged with Murder

A New York woman who is accused of shaking a baby who later died is being charged with murder, WWNY reported Friday.

Gouverneur resident 26-year-old Tiara Allen was indicted by a St. Lawrence County grand jury on several counts, including second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, reckless assault of a child, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the report.

Allen was allegedly watching her boyfriend’s five-month-old baby on July 7 at their home in Fowler when she became frustrated by the baby’s crying and began to shake the child, state troopers said.

“The infant became unresponsive and was transported to Gouverneur Hospital and then taken to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse,” the report states. “Police said the baby was diagnosed with anoxic brain injury and subdural hematomas as a result of Allen’s actions.”

Allen was arrested on July 13 for reckless assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The baby later died in August.

“At that time we could have gone back and rearrested on the higher charges but we felt that we would just wait for the grand jury presentment and let the grand jury decide what the appropriate charges were,” said District Attorney Gary Pasqua.

Allen was arraigned on the new charges in county court on Friday. She was ordered to be held in the county jail on a $250,000 bail or $500,000 bond, according to the report. Before the indictment, Allen had been released on $10,000 bail.

“A pre-trial conference is scheduled for January 8,” according to the report.