A former babysitter in Florida was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2019 death of a man whom she had disabled as an infant 35 years earlier, court records show.
The woman, Terry McKirchy, 62, had been indicted by a grand jury in 2021 on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Benjamin Dowling, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in an arrangement with prosecutors.
On July 3, 1984, Ms. McKirchy was babysitting for Mr. Dowling, who was six months old, when she violently shook him so hard that he suffered permanent brain damage, according to court records. He died of those injuries in 2019, at age 35.
Initially, Ms. McKirchy entered a no-contest plea in 1985 to first-degree attempted murder and aggravated battery of a child, court records show. Ms. McKirchy, who was pregnant at the time, spent weekends in jail until she gave birth, The Associated Press reported. She served 60 days in jail and then served three years’ probation, court records show.
A new case against Ms. McKirchy was opened after Mr. Dowling’s death, after an autopsy found that it was “directly caused by the injuries from 1984,” the Broward County State Attorney’s Office said in a statement in 2021.
Ms. McKirchy was arrested after being indicted by a grand jury in 2021, and released later that year after posting a $100,000 bond. She was ordered on May 29 this year to return to jail, court records show.
A lawyer for Ms. McKirchy and prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ms. McKirchy’s prison term will be followed by 10 years of probation. She was also ordered to write a letter of apology for her actions on July 3, 1984, detailing exactly what had happened that day.
In the letter, which her lawyer read at her sentencing in the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday, Ms. McKirchy wrote that “it was in a state of impulse and anger that I struck Benjamin while he and other children were crying,” WTVJ, a South Florida television station, reported.
“Your life and Benjamin’s life were truly harmed by me and I am truly sorry,” Ms. McKirchy wrote.
Mr. Dowling’s parents, Rae and Joe Dowling, specifically requested an apology as part of the plea agreement.
“We are pleased that this day is over, but we’ll always remember Benjamin,” Ms. Dowling told WTVJ on Wednesday. “She will have to live with this.”
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement in 2021 that Mr. Dowling’s parents knew something was wrong when Ms. Dowling picked him up from Ms. McKirchy’s home on July 3, 1984. The injuries required Mr. Dowling to have several operations, and he depended on a feeding tube inserted into his abdomen throughout the rest of his life.
Mr. Dowling’s parents said in a statement after the indictment that their son “never crawled, fully rolled over, walked, never talked, never fed himself, he never enjoyed a hamburger or an ice cream cone, he could never tell us when he had an itch or anything hurt.”
“When he cried in pain, we as a family and caregivers had to guess as to what was wrong and hope that we could satisfy his need,” they said. “Benjamin would never know how much he was loved and could never tell others of his love for them.”
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