A Phoenix, Arizona mother is facing charges of first-degree murder and child abuse after admitting to investigators that she killed her 4-year-old son, Phoenix police said Friday afternoon.
According to the arrest report for 32-year-old Michelle Denise Shirley, the little boy’s stepfather found him unresponsive at the family’s west Phoenix apartment the morning of May 31. Paramedics took the child to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
An autopsy the following day found the 4-year-old boy had several serious injuries, including a torn spleen, lacerated liver, a lacerated kidney, and broken ribs. The boy also had bruises over much of his body. The probable cause for arrest statement says the little boy probably would not have survived more than 24 hours after suffering those injuries.
“When these cases are talked about or reported on, that’s the first response, ‘Oh my gosh, how could a mom do something like this?,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Mercedes Fortune.
Police say that both Shirley and her husband told investigators that Shirley was the only one to discipline the child. The couple also said the boy likely would have told Shirley if his stepfather were hurting him, police said.
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The probable cause statement says the stepfather told investigators that his wife “had whooped” the child the day before he died because he had been having “[potty] accidents.” According to police, the stepfather said that while he did not see the incident, he did hear it. He reportedly said Shirley had spanked the boy with her sandal “in the past.” He said the most recent incident did not sound like that and went on for “three to four minutes.”
Shirley reportedly told police that she hadn’t disciplined the child for about a month, adding, “but I spank him on the butt.” Police say Shirley agreed to a polygraph but did not pass. According to court documents, she admitted to the examiner after the test that she had hit her child the day before she died. Speaking with detectives again after the failed polygraph, police say Shirley told them she hit the little boy twice before his stepfather found him.
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Police say they brought in the child’s stepfather at the end of the interview and Shirley told him while crying, “I did it. I did it. I have to live with this. I killed my baby.”
Shirley went before a judge Thursday night with an attorney who described her as a grieving mother and a state employee with a criminal justice degree. The Arizona Department of Economic Security confirms Shirley is a temporary employee who has been with the agency since March 22.
“She has no intention of running. She’s innocent of these charges,” said Shirley’s attorney. “There are studies recently released that African Americans who have a child pass away are much more likely to be arrested and charged with murder and child abuse than white people.”
The suspect’s next court hearing is scheduled for June 30. She remains in jail on a $500,000 bond.
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