BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A woman was sentenced to 30 years in prison for causing serious bodily injury to her newborn baby, who later died from those injuries in 2023, according to a Bexar County District Attorney’s Office news release.
Samantha Elizabeth Baker, 23, claimed she found her child unresponsive. However, she later admitted to authorities that she hit the baby out of frustration while he was crying, the release said.
According to investigators, Baker said she hit the baby “hard” about three times on his head with an open palm. Baker said she “became frustrated when the victim began to cry and took her frustration out on the victim,” an arrest affidavit said.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed the infant suffered a fractured skull due to blunt-force trauma.
“Today’s sentencing is a testament to the strength of our community’s commitment to protecting children and ensuring that those who harm them are held accountable,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said.
BACKGROUND
Baker initially told investigators in 2023 she swaddled the baby in a blanket and placed him in the bassinet face-up, the affidavit said.
Baker said she woke up hours later to find the infant still in the blanket, face down and unresponsive.
Baker called the newborn’s father, who was at work, to tell him that the baby was unresponsive. The father immediately called 911 and left work, police said.
Emergency medical services responded to their home and transported the infant to the hospital.
The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital. He would have turned a month old the next day.
The medical examiner’s office told investigators that the baby’s “injuries were inconsistent with the defendant’s recollection of events.”
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