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Grandmother charged in baby’s death

A woman was arrested on manslaughter charges for failing to take her 2-month-old grandson to a doctor for treatment that could have saved his life, police said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A woman was arrested on manslaughter charges for failing to take her 2-month-old grandson to a doctor for treatment that could have saved his life, police said.

Schwana Renae Smith, 34, had been caring for the baby after the infant’s 16-year-old mother was arrested Jan. 25 on a charge of violation of probation, police said.

The infant, Rueben Alvin Manning III, died Jan. 31. He had an enlarged head that an exam after his death showed was caused by fluid on the brain, a buildup that caused the skull to swell.

An ultrasound had been scheduled for the infant to determine the cause of the swelling after a pediatrician examined him on Jan. 23. But police said the boy wasn’t taken to the Jan. 26 appointment or to another appointment on Jan. 30. According to the arrest report, Smith told police it should have been someone else’s responsibility.

Authorities were searching for the child’s father, who apparently knew about the appointments, Sgt. Ray Barber said.

Smith was arrested Monday and held on $25,000 bond. The public defender’s office was appointed to represent her, but no attorney had been assigned to her case Wednesday.