NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A Newport News mother who pleaded guilty to injuring her 5-month-old son was sentenced in March 2022.
Alexus Nichole Raynor, 23, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and child abuse and neglect in Newport News Circuit Court. Both charges are felonies. Raynor was sentenced to 15 years in jail on the charges, with all time suspended. She’ll be on supervised probation for four years.
A prosecutor gave the judge a stipulation of facts, which stated that the infant was injured between March 30 and April 8, 2021. The injuries were discovered when Raynor brought the baby to a hospital on April 12 because he was vomiting and had a fever. Doctors discovered that the baby had a subdural hematoma and a spinal fracture, according to the prosecutor.
Raynor met with a Newport News Police Department detective in late April and admitted that she’d forcefully put her son in his crib one night when he wouldn’t stop crying. She said she’d just had a bad day at work and needed 20 minutes of silence. She also said she was diagnosed with postpartum depression, the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor said that the child’s injuries were very serious and that the impact on his brain is not yet fully understood; however, the baby is living with Raynor’s parents and is doing well.