Child minder sentenced to prison for shaking baby to death

A child minder from Assen was sentenced to four years in prison for shaking a baby to death in October last year. The court found the woman guilty of manslaughter, saying she acted deliberately and with the knowledge that shaking can kill a baby, NOS reports.

The Public Prosecutor demanded six years in prison, also for manslaughter. The judge decided that a lower sentence is appropriate as this is the woman's first run in with the law and she already sought help, so there is little chance of repetition. The woman confessed to what she did.

The 1-year-old baby girl cried continuously. The woman walked around with her for 45 minutes and finally, desperate, shook the child. She then lay the baby down in bed. When she went to check on her some time later, the baby was unresponsive. The woman resuscitated the girl and called an ambulance. The baby died in hospital two days later.

At home the woman told her husband what she did and he took her to the police.