PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A 5-month-old Palm Harbor boy died Monday, just days after he suffered a traumatic injury while in his mother’s care, authorities say.
The boy, whose name was withheld, was taken off life support on Monday and pronounced deceased, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
The boy’s mother, Burgandie Marquez, 30, is being held on a $500,000 bond in the Pinellas County Jail.
Marquez was initially charged Thursday with aggravated child abuse. Detectives say they are awaiting the boy’s autopsy results to determine if those charges will be upgraded.
Deputies said paramedics were called to a Mobile Gas Station in Pasco County on Thursday after Marquez complained the child was having seizures and needed medical attention. The boy was then airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in critical condition. Investigators said he had suffered severe brain bleed.
Detectives said Marquez gave them conflicting statements about how the boy was injured.
She later admitted to forcefully jerking the boy from the ground twice and causing his head to snap backward after she became angry during a phone call with the child’s father. She also admitted to knowing she had been too rough with the child, detectives said.
Deputies said Marquez took the boy to Pasco County to meet his father and stopped at the gas station when the boy’s condition worsened.
She was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday without incident.
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