BRYAN, Texas — A 24-year-old College Station woman was handed a four-decade-long prison sentence for actions in 2022 that nearly killed an infant.
According to the Brazos County District Attorney's Office, Berta Lopez-Vasquez was watching a five-month-old child while her mother was at work on Jan. 19, 2022 when the infant began to cry. She eventually became frustrated with the child since it wouldn't stop crying, and decided to shake the child and even threw them against a wall. After being thrown against the wall, the child began seizing and stopped breathing.
The child's mother was later contacted by Lopez-Vasquez after being convinced by her husband, who she only called after seeing the extent of the child's injuries. Lopez-Vasquez also refused to take the child to medical care or call an ambulance.
The child's mother was told by Lopez-Vasquez that her child wasn't breathing normally. When the child's mother arrived at her house, she immediately took the infant to St. Joseph Hospital to receive medical attention.
After being checked out by St. Joseph staff, they made the decision to transport the infant to Texas Children's Hospital, a Level One Trauma Center. The child had multiple skull fractures, bruises all over their body, retinal hemorrhaging from being shaken, and severe brain bleeding.
College Station Police were informed of the infant's injuries after the child had been seen by staff and began their involvement in the case.
Although the nearly three-year-old victim continues to have issues related to the abuse, their recovery was described as "miraculous" and medical professionals say the actions by those at St. Joseph and Texas Children's saved the child's life. The child's mother also was thankful to the medical staff and thanked God for keeping her son alive.
“The defendant hurt an innocent, defenseless infant and left him with lifelong injuries as a result of her abuse," said Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Escue, Kevin Capps, and Anjelica Harris in a press release. "Our office will continue to protect the most vulnerable members of our community by strongly responding to anyone who harms a defenseless child.”
Lopez-Vasquez received her sentence after pleading guilty to an Injury to a Child Causing Serious Bodily Injury on Thursday.