Police Suspect Ex-Convict of Homicide After He Allegedly Shook His Baby to Death

Gianni Gilmore, 6 months, was declared brain dead at New York University Langone Hospital in New York on April 20, 2018. (Shatwaun Gilmore/Facebook)

Authorities suspect a former convict of fatally injuring a baby in New York, on April 17, 2018.

New York Police Department charged Shatwaun Gilmore, 24, on April 19, 2019 for violently shaking his son Gianni, aged 6 months.

The rapid movement allegedly caused the infant to lose consciousness at home near the intersection of Gates and Marcy avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant, about 2 miles southeast of Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Gilmore, who at the time was on parole for a 2013 attempted robbery conviction, only called 911 after Gianni’s grandmother, Jacqueline Saintangle, noticed the baby was not moving.

Worried family members tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the baby but Gianni continued to show the symptoms of shaken baby syndrome.

According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), these symptoms include drowsiness, irritability, coma, seizures, dilated pupils, decreased appetite, vomiting, bad posture, breathing difficulties, and cardiac arrest.

“Babies have very weak neck muscles that cannot fully support their proportionately large heads,” AANS said on its website. “Severe shaking causes the baby’s head to move violently back and forth, resulting in serious and sometimes fatal brain injury.”

After suffering severe trauma to his head, Gianni was eventually declared brain dead at New York University Langone Hospital three days later at 3 p.m on April 20, 2018. A spokesperson for the city Medical Examiner’s office told New York Daily News Gianni died of “abusive head trauma.”

NYPD officers arrested Gilmore, who said he was not responsible and accused the mother Sara Julien, 22, of killing Gianni.

The father was initially charged with assault and child endangerment but the allegations were dropped. NYPD is expected to make new charges as the case is now being treated as a homicide investigation, a knowledgeable source told the NY Daily News.

Not-for-profit organization United We Stand Against Child Abuse (UWSACA) said on social media the father indicated on April 19 he was planning to go into hiding if Gianni died.

“[He] also threatened to commit suicide rather than face a lengthy prison sentence, according to Gianni’s mother,” UWSACA said in a Facebook post dated April 22.

Two concerned citizens left heated comments on social media about the news.

“Perfect! He should kill himself for what he did to his son,” Melisa Kerr wrote. “Evil coward.”

“Thank you you [are as] dum[b] as hell,” Maserati Been Tatted wrote.

Others were very sad to hear about Gianni’s death.

“Evil, how can someone do this,” Grace Dominique Powell wrote.

“Beautiful baby boy,” Sandi Medina wrote.