A 20-year-old woman from California has been arrested after a nanny cam allegedly filmed her attempting to smother a baby, in a bid to stop him from crying.
Livermore police say that video footage obtained from a hidden nanny cam shows Moriah Gonzales holding her hands over the crying baby’s mouth, until he falls limp.
According to police, Gonzalez lifted up the crying 13-month-old, and held her hands over his face.
The report states that “the sounds went from clear and audible to a muffled cry. After a few seconds [the baby] began to squirm and kick. He then went limp.”
Gonzales is then said to have lifted the boy up, resting him on her shoulder, with her hands still over the baby’s face. Once she removed her hands, the baby began crying again. She then “flung” the baby over her shoulder, before laying him back down in his crib.
By the time parents arrived home, the baby exhibited no signs of serious harm. With Gonzales still in their house, the parents reviewed the footage.
They asked Gonzales to leave, without disclosing what they saw, before calling the police.
The following day a police officer interviewed Gonzales about the incident. Gonzales’ account was not at all corroborated by the nanny cam footage. She was surprised to learn she had been filmed, but continued to offer a series of events that were inconsistent with the video evidence.
Gonzales was arrested and is faced with charges of felony child abuse likely to cause great bodily harm.
She appeared in court on 22nd of February and pled not guilty.
She is scheduled to return to court on the 8th of April.
Top Comments
What an awful story! I'm so glad the baby is (relatively) unharmed and that the parents had that camera on. Who knows what might have happened the next time?
That's the problem sac, if the baby was oxygen deprived and went limp - there may not be any signs immediately but there could be brain damage which may only show up later. Not to mention the emotional/psychological scars of being smothered by a carer - the poor baby.
This is shocking but the moral of the story is - don't leave your children with immature/unqualified carers. Yes you have to pay more but how much do you value your child's life.
There have been stories of qualified nannies doing unspeakable things to children. The true moral of the story is to get a nanny cam!
I arranged for my mother and mother in law to care for my baby, until I stayed home when I had our second child and I became a stay at home mum.
I never left our children with anyone who wasn't related and completely trusted - I know that not everyone can do that but to me the safety of my babies was of paramount importance. As you say you can never be too careful and a nanny cam is the way to go.