An Aberdeen mother of three charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 5 1/2-month-old daughter was denied bail Thursday in Harford County District Court.
Maya Dennis, 32, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse of her daughter who had injuries including a fractured skull, brain bleed and a broken leg, charging documents said.
Police said Dennis made statements indicating that she was responsible for her infant’s injuries.
During Dennis’s bail hearing Thursday afternoon, public defender Sawyer Hicks said that Dennis is a mother of three and that her other children were staying with her family in Baltimore City. He said that there isn’t enough evidence in the case to place full blame on Dennis. Charging documents indicated that an unidentified man visited the home before Dennis called police to report her daughter’s injuries.
Security footage from Dennis’ apartment shows a man entering her apartment and staying for approximately 45 minutes before Dennis’ call to 911, according to charging documents. Dennis told police that the man did not touch or have unsupervised interactions with the infant.
The prosecutors said Thursday that they do not anticipate anyone else being charged in the case.
Judge David Carey denied a request for home detention, saying Dennis is a “danger to the public;” Dennis will be held in the Harford County Detention Center without bail.
According to charging documents, police went to Dennis’ apartment in the 200 block of Mayberry Drive for reports of a cardiac arrest on Saturday. When police arrived, they discovered an infant girl not breathing. The infant — who had been released from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit approximately five days earlier — was taken to an area hospital where she was listed in critical condition, according to the charging documents.
On Sunday officers contacted the hospital for an update on the infant’s condition and learned that she was showing “minimal brain activity” and suffering from multiple injuries, charging documents state. The infant also had bruising under both eyes, which doctors believed to be from retinal hemorrhaging — a condition that can be caused by things such as trauma to the head, charging documents state.
The infant died Tuesday as a result of her injuries and Dennis was arrested that day by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Apprehension Unit and transported to the Harford County Detention Center.
According to charging documents, Dennis told police the infant sustained the injuries when one of her other children was “running in the home and accidentally fell on” the baby. Dennis later told investigators that the injuries to the infant’s eyes were caused by medication the baby was taking, charging documents state.
Police said the doctors and nurses who treated the baby said the injuries were not consistent with Dennis’ version of events, according to the charging documents.
Dennis has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 30.
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