How Could You? Hall of Shame-Shawna Nacke UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Leadville, Colorado, aunt and foster parent Shawna Nacke, has been indicted by a grand jury on three charges for abuse of her 7-month-old nephew.

“The first charge is class-three felony child abuse, which is knowingly or recklessly causing serious bodily injury. (A class-one felony is the most severe, and class six is the least.)

According to District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, serious bodily injury translates to permanent disfigurement or potential death.

The second charge is class-four felony child abuse, which is considered to be criminal negligence that caused serious bodily harm.

The third child-abuse charge is a class-two misdemeanor, which is criminal negligence that caused bodily harm.

The charges were reported to Judge Karen Romeo on Oct. 6.”

“He had sustained significant brain damage in the incident, according to Kelly McKee, the infant’s mother. He had three surgeries on his brain, one to remove part of his skull to relieve pressure.

She was told the damage was consistent with shaken-baby syndrome.

“We are fortunate our baby survived,” she said.

She also said that she and the baby’s father are working toward regaining custody of the baby and his brother.

Nacke turned herself into the Chaffee County jail and was held on a $20,000 bond. She also posted that bond on Friday.”
             
Grand jury indicts Nacke in child-abuse incident
[Leadville Herald 10/13/11 by Ann E. Wibbenmeyer]

“District Attorney Mark Hurlbert says they don’t know yet whether they’ll go for the maximum sentence.

Nacke makes her first court appearance Nov. 28.”

Boy’s Injuries

“The boy was shaken enough that he suffered “significant” brain swelling and had to have surgery to relieve the pressure, Hurlbert said.

“He’s alive. There’s the potential that he could be blind,” Hurlbert said. ”

“The boy is going to be blind due to being a victim of shaken baby syndrome, and that because Nacke was the only adult at the residence when emergency services were called, “we can conclude that Mrs. Nacke caused the injuries,” according to Sirotnick’s statement in the arrest affidavit.”

July 15

“At about 8 a.m. July 15, Leadville police responded to 321 Mount Harvard in Leadville when Nacke called them about an unresponsive baby, according to the arrest affidavit.

When police and paramedics arrived, the baby was taken to Saint Vincent’s hospital, and quickly flown by Flight for Life to Children’s Hospital in Aurora. Firefighters reported the baby was breathing on its own, that its right eye was partially closed and its left eye was open and the pupil was dilated. Its right leg had multiple bruises, Leadville/Lake County fire fighter John Ortiz said in the arrest affidavit.

Nacke agreed to speak to police and told them a toy being dropped on him by his brother caused the child’s bruises, himself a toddler, that the toddler tripped and fell on him, and the leg bruises were caused by a swing.

When the boy woke up that morning, Nacke called 911 when she thought the boy was having a seizure, she told police.

Their father, Donald Nacke, had been to their house the previous night after she had gone to work, so he could put his children to bed.

Removed from Home with Substance Abuse Issues

Social services placed the children with Shawna Nacke and her husband because their mother has substance abuse issues, she told police. The children’s father is Nacke’s husband’s brother.

She told police she would take a polygraph test, the affidavit says.

Dr. Lisa Zwerlinger told police that the child’s mother used alcohol and drugs while she was pregnant, and as a result the child “developmentally challenged.” He’s nine months old and cannot roll over on his own, according to the doctor’s statement in the arrest affidavit. ”

Alleged child abuse may leave infant blind
[Vail Daily 10/21/11 by Randy Wyrick]

Update: “Greg Marsh, of Marsh, Parlin and Associates, intends to file a motion for de-novo review of the grand-jury proceedings that led to the indictment of Shawna Nacke, charging felony child abuse of an infant.

This means he will be asking Judge Karen Romeo to review the grand-jury decision to make sure there was probable cause for the indictment.

He reported to Romeo, at a Dec. 16 status conference, that he also intends to file a motion to quash the indictment.

Marsh was given one week to file the first motion so that Romeo can have a ruling for the Jan. 14 hearing, scheduled at 4 p.m.

Nacke was indicted for the incident that put an infant in intensive care at a Denver hospital with life-threatening injuries last summer.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert allowed a grand jury to decided on charges for the incident instead of filing charges from his office directly.”

Review is sought of grand-jury proceedings Review is sought
[Herald Democrat 12/29/11 by Ann E. Wibbenmeyer]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update 2/October 20,2014:“Lake County social services took a 7-month-old boy away from his parents, placing him with his aunt, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for abusing the child so seriously that he went blind.

Shawna Nacke, of Leadville, is the child’s aunt. The jury that convicted her agreed with prosecutors that she shook the baby, leaving it blind. She tried to blame the injuries on the child’s biological father, who had been alone with the child the previous evening.

The conviction and sentencing was one of the final cases of Mark Hurlbert’s tenure as district attorney.

“It is a significant amount of time for what she did. Ultimately the child may recover, but it’ll be a long process,” Hurlbert said.

The boy was shaken enough that he suffered “significant” brain swelling and had to have surgery to relieve the pressure, Hurlbert said.

The jury was out less than two hours before coming back with guilty verdicts on all three felony counts. Nacke could have received up to 32 years in prison.

Deputy District Attorneys Colleen Clark and Mark Franklin prosecuted the case.

This was only the second Fifth Judicial District grand jury convened since the 1960s, Hurlbert said.

Lake County District Court Judge Karen Romeo convened the 12-person grand jury from around the Fifth Judicial District’s four counties: Eagle, Summit, Lake and Clear Creek.

They heard five days of testimony before indicting Nacke on three felony counts.

A grand jury is a group of citizens who hears evidence. They can subpoena witnesses and documents and determine if there is enough to indict the defendant.

Nacke’s was one of two cases Hurlbert and his prosecutors took to a grand jury. The other was a Silverthorne homicide case, which they also won.”

Leadville woman sentenced to 18 years for child abuse[Vail Daily 1/28/13 by Randy Wyrick]