Woman found guilty of shaking 18-month-old child to death in 2020

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – INFORMATION FROM THE CADDO PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY:

A Shreveport woman accused of shaking a baby to death was found guilty of that crime in Caddo County Court on Thursday, July 11, 2024.

The trial was originally scheduled to go before a jury, but as the jury was being selected on Monday, July 8, defendant Tatianna Jenell Burns, 42, requested a single-judge trial before District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.

Following the presentation of prosecution and defense arguments and deliberation by Judge Hathaway, the court found Burns, also known as Tatianna Washington, guilty of the alleged first-degree murder of an unrelated child, AW, who was 18 months old at the time of her death on June 5, 2020.

During the trial, the prosecution called 11 witnesses to prove that Burns murdered AW, shaking her to death in her Caddo Parish home. Evidence at trial showed that Burns was caring for a toddler with whom she had no familial relationship, and that Burns had previously cared for another, unrelated child in 2013 who was removed from her home after an investigation found she had tortured the child. The state called four doctors who agreed that AW’s bleeding, swelling, and brain hemorrhage were the result of acute, mishandled head trauma. Prosecutors presented a combination of medical and witness testimony to prove that the defendant was the only person with access to the child at the time of the injury.

When Burns returns to Judge Hathaway’s court on July 23, she faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole or a suspended sentence.

Assistant District Attorneys Jason Waltman and Christopher Bowman prosecuted for the state. Leslie Kelly defended Burns.

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