Woman Charged for Murder in 1985 Shaken Baby Case

Terry McKirchy is facing murder charges for a crime prosecutors say she committed almost four decades ago.

In 1985, McKirchy pleaded no contest to attempted murder for shaking 5-month-old baby Benjamin Dowling causing lifelong brain damage. McKirchy was his babysitter at the time.

Dowling, who lived his entire life with mental and physical issues, died in 2019 at 35. The medical examiner’s office concluded that the individual died due to the injuries he acquired during the 1984 event after conducting an autopsy.

Dowling’s parents were initially told by McKirchy, who was 22 at the time, that the infant had fallen off the couch. Dowling, however, had been subjected to violent head trauma, often known as Shaken Infant Syndrome. McKirchy was found guilty of attempted murder shortly after, but her punishment was mild since she just had to serve a few weekends in jail and three years of probation. When Dowling died on Sept. 16, 2019, the situation changed.

The now 59-year-old was recently charged with first-degree murder by a grand jury. She was caught earlier this month in Texas, where she now resides and is currently awaiting extradition to Florida.

“The passage of time between the injuries sustained and the death of the victim was considered by the forensic experts who conducted the autopsy and ruled the death was directly caused by the injuries from 1984,” prosecutors said in a statement. “This case was presented to the grand jury, which determined that this was a homicide.”