Journal tomhudson's Journal: People still find ways to shock me ... 8
Filed under "The Courts", because if the perp is lucky, she'll end up there and not in the hands of vigilantes. This is the sort of crime that leaves jurors flint-faced and stone-hearted.
Baby's face bashed
Hero stops savage attack
Hailed as a saviour, a Winnipeg man who interrupted a woman as she savagely attacked a months-old child yesterday says the baby was so badly injured he couldn't tell if it had a face.
Tyler Bilsborrow, 18, spotted the woman smashing the baby's face into a sidewalk when he stepped outside his Chudley Street home in Tyndall Park for a smoke about 4:30 a.m.
From afar, it appeared the woman was beating a cat. But when Billsborrow got close, he was horrified -- the woman dropped the baby on the boulevard and staggered off and he realized it was a baby, who was covered in blood, screaming and gasping for air, he said.
"She had the baby's face like this and was smashing it into the concrete," he said, motioning to demonstrate how the woman's hands were around the baby's neck. "She just ran off crying. She didn't say anything."
Detectives and Bilsborrow's mom, Pearl, credit him for saving the child.
"The police said, 'You pretty much saved her life,'" said Bilsborrow, who was emotionally shaken by the ordeal.
Bilsborrow said it appeared the child, wearing only a shirt and diaper, was a girl about six months old.
Police said the baby is in guarded condition and being monitored closely in hospital.
"The individual may not be out of the woods. Medical (staff) are still very concerned for the outcome," said police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen.
The incident happened on Chudley, just south of Tyndall Avenue and across from a housing development in Gilbert Park.
Moments before police arrived, the girl's mother was overheard crying in front of the family's home, which is close to the crime scene.
"She was saying she couldn't find her daughter," a neighbour said. "She was with a guy and he was saying, 'Don't cry, we're going to find her.' "
Bilsborrow said a woman was arrested nearby. Police wouldn't confirm the arrest or any details about the child, including its gender, age and connection to the woman.
Bilsborrow, the father of a one-year-old girl, wrapped the baby in his hoodie, called 911 on his cellphone, and comforted the child until emergency personnel arrived.
Bilsborrow said he removed some kind of cord or string wrapped around the baby's neck.
He believes the attacker was intoxicated. He didn't stop her because his concern was the baby's well-being.
The incident outraged and sickened Bilsborrow's mom and neighbours.
"She should have her head smacked in the way she did that baby. What could (a baby) honestly do to deserve such a licking?" Pearl Bilsborrow said.
Detectives in the child abuse unit are investigating.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hsp42hiPBSldXDt7skb3HYtjufkQ
Baby found covered in blood, hospitalized after attack in Winnipeg
WINNIPEG -- A young man who interrupted a brutal attack on a baby says he'll never forget the sight of the child being beaten in the street.
Tyler Bilsborrow, 18, stepped outside his family's Winnipeg home for a smoke around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and heard "weird sounds, like screaming sounds" nearby.
"At first I thought it was two cats fighting in a field because there's a street lamp that doesn't work and it was dark there," recalled Bilsborrow.
Curious, he walked around a corner to see what was going on. He said he spotted a woman sitting on the pavement.
"I was walking slow at first. I thought she was just some drunk woman being stupid or whatever. As I got closer, I realized that was not what it was," he said.
"As I was walking closer, I saw a lady there holding her baby around the neck, face down, hitting it into the cement."
Bilsborrow said the woman let go of the child and starting running when he approached. He looked down to find the seriously injured child.
The baby looked less than a year old, but he couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl.
"It was completely covered in blood. It looked pretty bad. The nose looked like it was broken, all swollen. (The baby) could barely open it eyes. From head to toe, just covered in blood."
The child was wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper, he said.
Bilsborrow took the sweater off his back, wrapped the baby to keep it warm and called police for help.
His mother, Pearl Bilsborrow, arrived home shortly after to the flashing lights of police cars and word that her son had saved a baby.
She said the situation has been a shock for Tyler, who has a young daughter himself.
"He's a good father. He's a pretty good dad and I think this has kind of disturbed him."
"This is a little life, a little human being, not a sack of potatoes or a doll. This is a little person with feelings and emotions. I don't understand what this child could have done, why was this woman so brutal."
Winnipeg police were tight-lipped about the investigation and would not confirm reports that a woman was in custody. Police would only say in a news release that officers were called to the area about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday regarding a serious assault.
The child was taken to hospital in critical condition and was in guarded condition later in the morning, police said.
The child abuse unit is investigating.
Police wouldn't identify the gender of the child.
Bilsborrow said he will always remember what he saw.
"It's something I can't forget
... holding that baby in my hands, where I had its head resting on my hand, seeing how much damage was done to such a little innocent baby. No, I'm never going to forget that."
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Of course, though this has nothing to do with what happened. Development continues after birth, you know :-) I also fully support pulling the plug after brain death. And in the case of incurable diseases that cause extreme handicaps and to end suffering at the person's request, and various other scenarios, related to quality of life, viability, etc., contrary to certain people who insist th
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I don't think Tom is for abortion of a baby in the 8th month of pregnancy. If you're at that point and don't want the baby, put it up for adaption.
Geez, "pro-lifers" really have serious problems making the distinction between a lump of cells and a baby that's viable.
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No need to worry. (Score:2)
Good Thing she is Canadian (Score:2)
I seriously doubt the baby could afford the medical bills if she lived down here in the states.
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I would hope that wouldn't even be a question in a case like this. Assuming she survives, the kid is going to need medical intervention over a span of years.
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I would hope that wouldn't even be a question in a case like this. Assuming she survives, the kid is going to need medical intervention over a span of years.
I think she might be covered as a minor, particularly if the woman beating her was her parent and she ended up a ward of the state. If a relative got custody and was above the income thresholds to be able to qualify for Children's Health Insurance Program, she could be SOL. Especially considering the fact that it's a pre-existing condition.
There are, however, no protections under our system for people who are uninsured/underinsured victims of violent crime [scienceblogs.com].