Woman sentenced to workhouse, probation for manslaughter of infant in 2020

A woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the death of an infant was sentenced to one year at the Hennepin County Workhouse and three years of supervised probation.

Stephanie Monique Walker, 41, was given a stayed sentence of 57 months in prison in exchange for completing the terms of her probation. She also cannot have any unsupervised contact with minors, according to court documents.

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A criminal complaint states that on December 12, 2020, Brooklyn Center police responded to a home after getting reports of an unconscious baby.

Officers then began life-saving efforts on a 2-month-old boy. When he was taken to the hospital, doctors discovered he had multiple skull fractures and severe brain swelling.

The boy died two days later.

Police then spoke to the people who were present in the home where the baby was found.

A woman who said she was the foster mother of the baby’s mother told police that she agreed to watch the baby for the weekend. She then put the baby in the care of Walker, even though she knew that Walker had severe arthritis.

Police then spoke to Walker, who denied knowing how the baby was injured.

Court documents state that Walker then charged her story to investigators, admitting that she picked the baby up and began to walk down a flight of stairs. She then fell and landed on top of the baby at the bottom of the stairs on a concrete floor covered with linoleum.

Walker admitted to not seeking help for the infant saying she didn’t call 911 or tell anyone else in the home what had happened, even after the infant stopped breathing.

Walker said she suffers severe arthritis and would not normally hold a baby while standing due to issues with her legs.