FREEHOLD, N.J. – A baby sitter accused of fatally shaking a toddler left in her care has been convicted of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment but acquitted of murder.
The Asbury Park Press (http://on.app.com/1EaAejj) reports that a Monmouth County jury rendered its verdict Friday against Michelle Heale stemming from the 2012 death of 14-month-old Mason Hess.
The 46-year-old Toms River resident faces up to 30 years in prison when she's sentenced June 26.
Heale testified that the toddler went limp after she hit him between his shoulder blades to save him from choking on applesauce. The boy was flown to a hospital and died three days later.
Doctors later determined the boy suffered severe brain, spine and retinal damage from a violent shaking. But jurors heard conflicting medical testimony.
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Information from: The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.), http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
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