After an infant died under her care, a Chicago babysitter’s husband paid the child’s family $2,000, Illinois officials told news outlets.
Norma Chagnama, 29, is facing a murder charge in the death of the 4-month-old girl, TV station reported.
Chagnama was hired by the girl’s parents to babysit her in late 2022 and had done so multiple times, according to the outlet.
But she was arrested Feb. 18, after the baby was reported unresponsive at Chagnama’s home, where authorities say she was illegally running an unlicensed day care, reported.
Prosecutors said that Chagnama roughly handled the baby, causing damage to her brain and spine that led to her death, the station reported. Specifically, the girl had thrown up and, seeing that she was sick, Chagnama picked her up and heaved her over her shoulder, then threw her back down on the bed — all without supporting the girl’s head — at which point the baby began struggling to breathe, authorities told news outlets.
The girl died at a hospital after being taken off life support, WBBM reported.
Her parents told Chagnama of the bad news, WGN reported, and Chagnama said that she was sorry and that they needed “to trust the word of God.” Chagnama’s husband then gave the couple $2,000 for funeral expenses, prosecutors said.
The babysitter’s attorney told the station that there’s “nothing that connected my client to the injuries of this child. It’s obviously a very unfortunate circumstance, but we don’t know what happened that day.”
McClatchy News reached out to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and is awaiting a response.