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Mom Charged In Boy's Death

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - A 30-year-old mother of four was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of one of her children, a 4-month-old boy.

Cynthia Calleia of 326 First Ave. N., Apt. 409, was booked into Pinellas County Jail on one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child. Bail was set at $500,000.

Calleia took the boy to All Children's Hospital on March 17, according to court records, and the child died April 15 of a quick-acting and severe staph infection from injuries.

Calleia often left the boy alone with his siblings, the oldest of whom was an emotionally troubled 9-year-old girl, court documents state. There also was a 5-year old boy and a 2-year-old girl in the household, according to St. Petersburg police.

The 9-year-old has a history of aggressive, violent behavior, the court documents state. In 2003, for instance, she was taken into custody for 72 hours of psychiatric evaluation after shaking the brother who now is 5, according to court records and St. Petersburg police.

The girl also was said to have tried to suffocate the other brother when he was younger, and child protection investigators looked into the allegation, court documents state. The girl also reportedly heard voices telling her to kill her mother, the documents state.

Calleia continually left her infant son with her disturbed daughter unsupervised, the court documents state.

The older boy reported seeing the troubled girl drop the baby on the floor because he wouldn't stop crying, court records state.

The 9-year-old also said the 2-year-old girl would treat the baby "like a doll" and would grab him by the arm and drag him across the floor, the documents say.

The older girl told St. Petersburg investigators she watched the boy while her mother slept or left to visit neighbors or went outside to smoke cigarettes, the documents state. She also said she dropped the child on his left side and heard a "loud crack" when he hit the floor, the documents state.

Four days before Calleia took the boy to All Children's, a babysitter told her something was wrong with the child and that he needed medical attention, the documents state. Calleia told the babysitter she was aware the baby was in pain, the babysitter told investigators.

The babysitter would "testify that there is absolutely no way that Cynthia Calleia could have held or picked up the victim, listened to him scream, and not have known that something was seriously wrong with him," the documents state.

The babysitter said Calleia frequently left the boy unsupervised with his siblings, with the 9-year-old in charge, the documents state.

A different babysitter saw the child March 15, two days before Calleia took him to All Children's, the documents state. The baby had been screaming all night and appeared to be in pain. The babysitter twice told Calleia she needed to take him to the doctor's office.

Calleia told investigators she took the child to All Children's on March 17 after noticing hours earlier he was not lifting his arm, the documents state. She suspected one of her children had pulled the arm out of its socket. She said the babysitters did not alert her to the infant's need for medical care.

Calleia acknowledged her 9-year-old daughter watched the boy whenever she went outside to smoke cigarettes, sometimes two at a time, and on average 20 a day, the documents state.

At All Children's Hospital, the boy was diagnosed with five fractured ribs, two fractures of the left arm and one fracture of the right leg, court documents state. Some were seven to 10 days old. The rib fractures likely were caused by squeezing, records state.

The three children have been placed in different foster homes by the Department of Children & Families, said St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Bill Proffitt.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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