A 28-year-old Charlotte woman has been charged with intentional child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury after a 7-month-old boy in her care was hospitalized with serious head and brain injuries, according to court records and local reporting.
The child’s mother told investigators that she left her son with Shidae Brown on the evening of Sept. 7. The following day, the mother spoke with Brown and the baby over FaceTime and said the infant appeared to be doing well at the time.
The situation changed the next day.
According to the arrest information, Brown contacted the mother and asked her to meet them at a hospital. Brown reportedly told her that the baby had fallen from a couch earlier in the day and was not doing well.
When the mother arrived, the infant had already been intubated. Medical personnel had identified serious injuries, including skull fractures and a severe brain injury.
Investigators later questioned Brown about what happened. Police say she maintained that the baby had fallen from the couch and said she was the only person caring for him when he was injured. She also denied that another accident had occurred.
Medical findings became a central part of the investigation. According to the arrest affidavit, the infant suffered skull fractures and axonal shearing, with doctors describing the injuries as severe and consistent with nonaccidental trauma. Investigators said the injuries did not match the explanation that the child had simply fallen from the couch.
Based on the reported medical findings, the circumstances surrounding the child’s care and Brown’s account of what happened, detectives sought criminal charges. Brown was arrested Sept. 11, according to recent local reporting.
Brown is being held at the Mecklenburg County jail on a $2 million bond. The charge remains an allegation, and the available reporting does not establish the final outcome of the case.
As of the latest reports, the infant’s condition had not been publicly updated. Authorities and medical professionals have not publicly provided additional details about the child’s recovery.
The case remains under investigation as authorities work to determine how the infant sustained the injuries while in Brown’s care.
