An Alabama judge has granted bond to a mother charged with the aggravated child abuse of her infant son who has been on life support since February.
Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff Judge Chuantae Brown, in a Thursday Aniah’s Law hearing, set a $60,000 bond for 30-year-old Tesean Laneta Daniele Beard.
Beard, of Midfield, is accused of injuring her 10-month-old son, Reazyn Jackson, to the point where he has no chance of survival, authorities say.
Reazyn, who was 5 months old at the time, was rushed to Children’s of Alabama unconscious and without a pulse on Feb. 28.
Doctors discovered Reazyn had two broken wrists, possible rib fractures and brain trauma, and say the ventilator is keeping him alive.
A different judge earlier this week suspended Beard’s right to make medical decisions for Reazyn, citing a conflict of interest in whether he lives or dies, despite what is the best course of action for him.
If the child was taken off life support, the judge noted, Beard would likely be charged with capital murder.
Circuit Judge David Carpenter appointed a Guardian Ad Litem to further investigate Reazyn’s circumstances and help determine what is best for him.
In Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors had the burden to prove, by clear and convicting evidence, that no condition or combination of conditions of release would reasonably ensure Beard would appear in court for future proceedings or protect the safety of the community or any person.
They did not do that, the judge ruled.
As of Thursday afternoon, Beard remained in the Jefferson County Jail.
Roughly a dozen of Beard’s family members attended both court proceedings this week in support of her, and prayed together in a circle before Thursday’s hearing.
Prior testimony indicated that Beard took an unconscious Reazyn to her neighbor, a retired Birmingham police officer, on Feb. 28. CPR was performed and Reazyn was taken to Children’s of Alabama.
Bessemer Cutoff Assistant District Attorney Lori Frasure argued Beard caused grave injuries to her child and could be of further danger to him.
Prior to her arrest last week, Beard had regular, supervised visits with her son and those would likely continue with her release from jail.
“I don’t (think) anyone can be 100 percent (sure) that she’s not going to have any contact with him,” Frasure said. “It just takes a moment for someone who is supervising her to look away and we don’t know what she would do at that point.”
Beard’s attorneys, Wakisha Hazzard, Maston Evans and Phillip Fikes, said no evidence has been presented to prove that Beard was responsible for Reazyn’s injuries.
When Reazyn was initially hospitalized on Feb. 28, medical workers did not note any suspicion of child abuse, and they questioned why it took so long for Beard to be charged.
The injuries, Beard’s attorneys claim, could have happened during resuscitation or during subsequent seizures he had after he was hospitalized.
“There has not been a single piece of testimony that can point to an exact date of when Tesean Beard could have shaken this baby,” Fikes said.
“There’s not an incident date or testimony about how this could have happened other than a guess from (doctors.)”
Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney’s Office Investigator Steve Talley was the first witness to take the stand Thursday.
Talley testified that Beard has no prior criminal history except for a failure to appear charge on a traffic ticket from Homewood.
Talley said Birmingham police in February 2020 investigated the death of another one of Beard’s children, who was 1 month at the time.
He said the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office ruled the cause an unexplained sudden death and the manner of death was undetermined.
Beard was not charged with any crime.
Midfield Det. Matthew Cleveland, the lead investigator on the aggravated child abuse case, said the criminal investigation began March 7, seven days after Reazyn was admitted to the hospital.
The police department was contacted by DHR to investigate possible child abuse.
The detective testified he spoke about Reazyn’s injuries with a nurse practitioner, and Dr. Michael Taylor, who is director of Pediatric Child Abuse at Children’s.
“He said that was consistent with being yanked up by the wrists and shaken violently,” Cleveland said of the baby’s condition. “They said he had no chance of recovery, neurologically or physically.”
Frasure asked Cleveland if Reazyn is being kept alive by artificial means.
“He’s stable due to the ventilator and would not survive if he was taken off the ventilator,” Cleveland said, adding that medical professionals do not anticipate Reazyn being able to be taken off the ventilator.
Cleveland said Beard told him Reazyn was in her custody when he became unresponsive.
Under cross examination from Beard’s attorneys, Cleveland acknowledged that the initial charge nurse said there were no signs of abuse at the time Reazyn was hospitalized.
The only damage initially noted, testimony showed, was an injury to the left frontal lobe which they said was because he went into cardiac arrest.
Beard’s attorneys said Reazyn had improved at times during his hospital stay and said DHR had wanted his maternal grandmother to take classes on how to care for him once he was released from Children’s of Alabama.
“So, which is it? Is he going to be released or does he have no chance for survival?” Evans asked the detective.
“I believe the hospital is not fit for long-term care so at some point he was going to be released to a long-term facility,” Cleveland said, noting the family has considered facilities in Texas and Georgia.
Under questioning from the attorneys, Cleveland testified he had not seen Reazyn since Feb. 28 and that he has not examined all of the medical records after the March 7 injury report from the doctors.
“Did you know Reazyn Jackson was getting better at one point?,” Hazzard asked the detective.
“I was told the opposite,” the detective replied.
Prosecutor Frasure asked Cleveland to clarify the discrepancy between the initial indication of no suspected abuse on Feb. 28, and the injury report issued one week later.
“Dr. Taylor said if you’re not looking for that particular injury, it’s easy to miss,” Cleveland said, explaining that the second round of testing – which including an MRI and X-ray – picked up the other injuries.
Asked about Reazyn’s chance of survival, Cleveland said, “It was told to me by the medical staff that he’s stable because the ventilator is breathing for him, but not that he was getting better. They explained that the body heals itself naturally in a dormant state. He would heal but not progress.”
Frasure also asked Cleveland about the possibility of Reazyn sustaining those specific injuries during CPR or a seizure. Cleveland said the doctor said those injuries could only be sustained by being lifted and shaken.
Asked by Beard’s attorneys why it took so long to charge her with a crime, the detective said it was an ongoing investigation between the Midfield Police Department and DHR.
Evans questioned why Beard, if suspected of injuring her son, was allowed repeated visits with him.
“They still allowed her to go see her son? Does that make sense?” Evans said.
“I don’t agree with that but that’s a DHR matter,” the detective said. “We don’t have any say so in visitation.”
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