When a 4-month-old boy’s parents went out for a quick dinner in June 2020, they got a stunning phone call from the babysitter Madyson Moyer — he was struggling to breathe.
Rushing back, the child was taken to Franciscan Dyer, then transferred to Advocate Christ in Oak Lawn. Doctors concluded he had brain bleeding and eye hemorrhages — signs of shaken baby syndrome.
Moyer, 30, of Munster, is on trial this week.
She is charged with battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old and neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, both Level 3 felonies. Each charge carries 3-16 years. She has pleaded not guilty.
Lawyers presented different explanations in opening arguments Monday for how the boy ended up hospitalized.
Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Arnold said the boy went from “happy” to “lifeless” and “limp.” With seizures at the hospital, Franciscan staff suspected child abuse and called the Indiana Department of Child Services. At Advocate, he was in-and-out of a coma.
He “nearly lost his life” and the shunt doctors installed was “still there,” she said.
Doctors, including a child abuse expert from Riley Children’s Health hospital in Indianapolis, concluded the damage would have happened not long before the boy’s symptoms surfaced. She acknowledged there were “no witnesses” and “not much of a police investigation.”
Defense lawyer Adam Tavitas said Moyer was not responsible.
“We’re not disputing (his) injuries,” he said.
Moyer was a trusted babysitter who watched the couple’s four kids for a few years at that point, he said. When the boy started showing signs, she called the mother right away to come home.
“She didn’t ignore an issue,” he said.
His client cooperated with DCS. The timeframe was more open, Tavitas argued.
A brain imaging expert from Advocate said the child could have had issues within 24 hours of a scan and up to 3-4 days, or a week.
Moyer is expected to testify later this week.
Dyer Police responded June 23, 2020 to the 1100 block of Dalemont Way for a child “possibly in full arrest.” The boy’s father called 911.
The boy was “conscious,” but “very lethargic.” The boy’s mother told investigators she didn’t see anything wrong with the boy when she quickly dropped off groceries before slipping out for dinner.
Moyer told DCS the boy was “fussy, but fine” that morning.
She went to finish feeding him a bottle around 6:45 p.m. When she picked him up, she noticed he was breathing differently, calling the parents to listen to him.
Staff at Advocate said the boy had no prior injuries. The siblings were too small to cause that kind of damage, social worker Rebecca Chacon told them. The boy had signs of “abusive head trauma,” “cerebral compression,” and eye hemorrhages. He needed medication for seizures.
The father told cops the boy needed a permanent shunt for the rest of his life.
“I just hope he’s there mentally,” he said, according to the affidavit.
