A North Lawndale mother was ordered detained Saturday after she was accused of physically abusing her 5-month-old son so severely that it led to his death last November.
Officers found the child, Marquis Johnson, unresponsive Nov. 21 in the 1500 block of South Millard Avenue. He died a week later from injuries his mother, Tamyra Anderson, allegedly inflicted on him, including head trauma, detached retinas, cardiac arrest and an acute brain bleed, according to court records.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide from multiple injuries and child abuse. Anderson, 20, was arrested at her home Thursday and charged Friday with first-degree murder.
Johnson’s father had witnessed Anderson shaking, throwing and roughly handling the baby in the past, causing the child to scream, prosecutors said. Cell phone evidence also placed Anderson at the scene with the baby at the time of his death, according to prosecutors.
Judge Antara Rivera ordered Anderson detained at a hearing Saturday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. Rivera said electronic monitoring or home confinement would put Anderson’s other 1-year-old child at risk. Anderson has a history of drug abuse, court records say.
Anderson also has a pending theft case in which she’s accused of taking more than $1,100 from a cash register in a grocery store in the Austin neighborhood. Her next court date is scheduled for Tuesday.
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