Leah Walden, 23, was in charge of watching Reese Bowman at Rocket Tiers Learning Center, a downtown Baltimore day-care facility, when she launched the vicious attack on her.
In the video implicating Walden, she was seen using excessive blankets, which fully covered the child's head, violently snatching the child out of the crib with one arm, swinging at the baby as if she was slapping her, and placing pillows over the baby's face. She also walked out of camera range several times while holding the baby and it remains a mystery what she did to the child during those times.
Walden was taken into custody early on Thursday by the police and she was charged. Court records for her case were not yet available online to show whether she had obtained an attorney.
"Reese Bowman, in my opinion, was tortured," said Col. Stanley Brandford, the chief of the police department's criminal investigations division.
Police said officers were called to the daycare on Tuesday afternoon for a report of a baby not breathing. Medics arrived there and performed CPR on the infant. When that did not work, she was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center and was pronounced dead a short time later. Detectives began investigation afterwards and questioned Walden. Brandford said Walden told them she fed the baby, wrapped her in a blanket and put her down for a nap. Later, the management of Rocket Tiers alerted police to the video and the truth was revealed.
The victim's family released a statement saying they were heartbroken and asked for privacy.
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