Matthew Penix reports for the Slidell, Louisiana Sentry-News:
SLIDELL — A nanny accused of shaking an infant so badly its brain started to bleed and hemorrhage will likely be absolved of criminal charges after passing a lie detector test, a defense attorney said Wednesday.
Jeannine Parker, 27, formerly of Slidell, passed the test Tuesday, backing her claim of innocence months after she was arrested on June 4 on two counts of second-degree battery in the abuse of Hayden Patzer. Parker had cared for the infant, who was four months old at the time, numerous times.
Investigators believed Parker was a main suspect, responsible for causing Patzer’s “unusual” illness — an odd combination of projectile vomiting, fever and lethargy uncommon in infants, Slidell police said.
On Jan. 5, Slidell Memorial Hospital officials alerted police of possible abuse after Wendy Patzer burst through the emergency doors with sick Hayden cradled in her arms. Doctors immediately examined Hayden and found bleeding inside Hayden’s skull consistent with shaken baby syndrome, a condition caused by vigorous shaking of a child that can result in mental retardation, speech impediments and death.
“She was always there when Hayden got sick,” said Rob Callahan, Slidell Police spokesman. “She would call the mother Wendy and tell her Hayden is sick.
“Some of the blood they found in the brain was current, some was from an earlier date in December,” said Callahan. “Apparently this had happened before.”
Pediatricians worked the same symptoms in Hayden months earlier. Suspicion set in on Parker.
After months of legal maneuvering and continued court dates, Parker met with an attorney and the district attorney’s office and proclaimed her innocence, her lawyer Richard Swartz said.
She agreed to take a polygraph and passed.
Although the results of lie detector tests aren’t 100 percent conclusive and can’t be admitted into a criminal trial, many law enforcement officials tend to view them as credible, said Swartz.
“Even though this is not something admissible in court, it is generally accepted by the legal community as accurate,” he said. “The District Attorney’s Office is very conscience [sic] against filling [sic] correct charges. They’ve treated us very fairly.”
Swartz expects the District Attorney’s Office to announce within several days if it will go forward with the charges brought against Parker despite the lie detector results. District Attorney spokesman Bart Pepperman was not in his office Tuesday and unavailable for comment.
Some speculated that if not Parker or family members — Wendy had reluctantly taken a polygraph and passed — then who was responsible for Hayden’s scars?
One theory is that someone close to Parker, such as a significant other, friend or relative, might have had access to Hayden. Though not considered a suspect Wendy’s mother and sister have not taken a polygraph test although asked by local police. They are not considered a suspect.
Since the incident, Hayden underwent three surgeries and was saved from what some doctors expected was blindness. Wendy could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
In a March, 2004, interview with the Slidell-Sentry News, Wendy said Hayden had a red scar on his head with tube bubbling up under his scalp. He seemed to constantly cry.
“A baby’s brain is floating in its skull,” she said. “When a baby is shaken the brain hits the walls of the skull. The pressure causes the blood vessels to burst and the blood had accumulated between the brain and the skull. I have a hard time with trust. If I can’t see him, I assume somebody is doing something to him.”
Attorney Richard Swartz is correct when he states that many law enforcement officials tend to view lie detector “tests” as credible. But those law enforcement officials are dead wrong.