Shaken baby syndrome is not a joke and it needs not to be taken lightly. – Jennifer Wild
LAYTON — A man who apparently became frustrated with his girlfriend's crying infant was charged Wednesday with killing the baby.
Tyler Ryan Geary, 25, was charged Wednesday in 2nd District Court with child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony.
On Sept. 10, Geary was watching 11-month-old Aliyah Faye Wild, the daughter of his girlfriend, Jennifer Wild, at their Layton residence while she was at work.
After apparently becoming frustrated with the infant's crying, Geary picked up Aliyah "by the armpits with the child facing him, and shook her for approximately 30 to 40 seconds in an effort to get her to stop crying. Defendant then dropped the child on a bed. At this point, the child was unconscious. Defendant again shook the child, but the child was unresponsive," charging documents state.
The infant underwent emergency surgery to try and relieve the pressure on her brain from swelling. She was taken off life support and died seven days later, on Sept. 17.
Geary was originally arrested for investigation of child abuse.
Last week, Jennifer Wild, in a prepared statement to the Deseret News, encouraged anyone who is frustrated with a crying baby to just walk away from the situation and cool off.
"Shaken baby syndrome is not a joke and it needs not to be taken lightly," she said. "If you are upset or frustrated with your child, or left your child in the care of somebody, please set them down and walk away for five minutes, because a moment of frustration isn't worth the life of an innocent child."
A fund has been set up at all America First Credit Union branches under Aliyah's name.
Email: preavy@deseretnews.com
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