Trial begins against Lubbock foster mother accused of infant’s death
Jurors were selected on Monday for the trial of a 46-year-old woman accused of killing a three-month-old boy who was placed in her care four years ago.
Lawyers spent the day narrowing down the 60 potential jurors to a panel of eight men and five women who will hear opening arguments and testimony against Mary Sifuentes, who is free on bail.
Sifuentes is charged with aggravated assault of a household member with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony that carries a penalty similar to murder – five years to life in prison.
She is accused of the death of Myles Clevenger on December 16, 2020. He was entrusted to her on August 25, 2020, two days after his birth.
Clevenger was released from his biological mother’s custody after the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services obtained a restraining order because amphetamines were found in his urine after the boy’s birth. His mother also told child welfare workers that she had used methamphetamine throughout her pregnancy, including two days before her son’s birth.
Court records show the boy was suffering from withdrawal symptoms but was expected to recover.
Sifuentes was considered a fictitious relative or close friend of the boy’s mother’s family, who told child welfare officials that she wanted Sifuentes to adopt her son because she had placed her other son in Sifuentes’ care the previous year when he was also under the influence of drugs at birth.
The charges against Sifuentes stem from an investigation by the Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit after police were called to University Medical Center, where Clevenger was taken by ambulance after he stopped breathing.
Sifuentes reportedly initially told investigators in December 2020 that she was the only adult in the house and that she placed the boy in his bouncer and dropped him, causing the infant to hit the back of his head on the bouncer.
Investigators found swelling and discoloration on the inside of Sifuente’s right wrist.
An investigator examined the boy’s bouncy castle and found it was undamaged and there was no evidence of a fall, the arrest warrant states.
In July 2021, the death investigation evolved into a homicide after investigators received the boy’s autopsy report and found that he had suffered multiple injuries from at least three different events, including the event that led to his death, the arrest warrant states.
Investigators spoke to doctors who said the boy suffered a cervical spine injury and brain trauma that caused swelling of his brain.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan revealed further injuries, including several brain hemorrhages and broken ribs and collarbone, according to an arrest warrant.
The boy also suffered metaphyseal fractures to both kneecaps as well as to his ankle and wrist.
“All fractures were described as acute,” the warrant states, adding that “metaphyseal fractures are almost exclusively the result of abuse.”
:quality(70):focal(2075x655:2085x665)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/KN7C5FJPK3NJGXC4X46CSLYHLU.jpg "Taylor Swift is so much more than just musical entertainment – an 18-year-old explains why – The Irish Times")
Taylor Swift is so much more than just musical entertainment – an 18-year-old explains why – The Irish Times
WestJet Airlines aircraft maintenance technicians strike begins, ETHRWorld
‘Love Island USA’ Season 6: Did Leah Kateb Kordell Beckham hear Miguel Harichi’s ‘90/10’ commentary?
About The Author
