MICHAELA CROSS - 1 Month (9/2011) - Long Beach CA

LONG BEACH - A hearing was postponed Tuesday
for a Long Beach couple accused of felony child abuse in the slaying of
their 31-day-old daughter.


Michael Cross, 42, and Melissa Swanson, 34, are each charged
with felony cruelty to a child causing death, though the prosecution
said it is reviewing additional charges.


The couple were arrested Aug.12, a day after Long Beach police
and paramedics responded to a 911 call to their home in the 600 block
of Magnolia Avenue to find Michaela Cross already dead.


A preliminary coroner's report listed the baby's cause of
death as blunt force trauma to the head and noted the fatal injury was
likely inflicted a week prior to the child's death, authorities said.


Tuesday's court hearing was postponed to allow time for a new
defense attorney for Swanson to review the case. Both defendants are
scheduled to return to the Long Beach Superior Court on Sept. 30.


Cross and Swanson are being held in lieu of $1 million bail each.

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_18802157

LONG BEACH -- Authorities on Friday officially
revoked the license of a social worker and 34-year-old Long Beach mother
who stands accused of felony child abuse in the beating death of her
31-day-old baby. Melissa Swanson, 34, and her husband, Michael Cross,
42, are each charged with felony cruelty to a child causing death in
the slaying of their daughter, Michaela Cross.
The couple were
arrested Aug. 12, a day after Long Beach police and paramedics responded
to a 911 call to their home in the 600 block of Magnolia Avenue to find
the newborn already dead.
Photos of the baby show her bottom and face covered in bruises and blistering on her lips.
The
couple allegedly told investigators they were force feeding the
31-day-old baby, but the Coroner's investigator said the blisters were
not consistent with force feeding.
The preliminary coroner's
report listed the baby's cause of death as blunt force trauma to the
head and noted the fatal injury was likely inflicted a week prior to her
death.
A bail review hearing was scheduled for the couple Friday but was postponed.
However
a representative from the Attorney General's Office was in court to
officially revoke Swanson's license as a registered social worker.
A
defense attorney told the court previously that Swanson was not working
at the time of the incident, but the prosecution pointed out that was
because Swanson was still on maternity leave from the birth of her baby.

Swanson was trained specifically to work with children and was deemed a potential
danger to clients by the Attorney General's Office, which oversees
licensing of social workers, authorities said.
She and her husband are scheduled to return to the Long Beach Superior Court Wednesday for a bail reduction hearing.
Swanson
and Cross are each being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to
the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center.

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_19013751

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- A Long Beach
husband and wife have been ordered to stand trial in the death of their
31-day-old infant who authorities say was a victim of ongoing physical
abuse.
The Long Beach Press-Telegram (http://bit.ly/sfrqTw) says
Judge Judith Meyer called the behavior of 42-year-old Michael Cross and
34-year-old Melissa Swanson "abhorrent" in court Monday.
Both were
arrested and charged with felony child abuse after baby Michaela Cross
was pronounced dead by paramedics at the family's home Aug. 11.

Cross also was charged with possession of narcotics for allegedly having rock cocaine.
An autopsy found the baby's fatal injury was caused by being swung like a baseball bat and slamming her into a hard object.
The baby's body was covered in bruises, blisters and torn skin.
They're scheduled for arraignment Dec. 27.



Read more: http://www.modbee.com/2011/12/12/1984993/parents-to-stand-trial-in-long.html#ixzz1gQyXTpb9

LONG BEACH -- A Long Beach couple were ordered to stand trial Monday for the beating death of their 31-day-old baby.
"I
find their behavior to be abhorrent," Long Beach Superior Court Judge
Judith Meyer declared sternly before ordering Melissa Swanson, 42, and
Michael Cross, 34, to each stand trial on a single count of felony child
abuse, including an allegation they inflicted great bodily injury on
baby Michaela.
Cross was also ordered to stand trial on a single
count of possession of narcotics, stemming from a piece of rock cocaine
found in his pocket when he and Swanson were arrested the day after
their daughter's Aug. 11, death.
Long Beach Police Department
Homicide Detective Greg Krabbe told the court Monday the couple
explained injuries in the newborn's mouth were from force feeding her
after the baby became lethargic and lost her appetite.
Both the
husband and wife said bruises on the baby's buttocks could have been
caused by Cross tossing her into the air and marks on her forehead could
have been caused by the baby bumping her head on her father's chest and
on the mattress of her crib.
Cross also said he showed affection
for his wife and daughter by "nibbling" on them and that could have
been the cause for marks on the baby's cheek and under her chin, Krabbe
said.
However, a Los Angeles County Coroner's medical examiner
said the injuries on Michaela's cheek and chin were burns, possibly from
a cigarette, Krabbe noted.
The medical examiner, an expert in infant deaths, said the bruises on
her bottom were from spanking and the baby's swollen and black eyes and
were caused by "being hit by fists," Krabbe said. The coroner said
the cause of death was blunt force trauma, specifically a skull fracture
on the left side of the baby's head, the detective testified.
The
fracture was about a week old at the time of the infant's death. The
fatal injury was caused by someone swinging the baby with both hands and
slamming into her into a hard object, the examiner told Krabbe.
"(Someone) basically used the baby as a baseball bat," the judge interjected.
"Yes," Krabbe said.
A
photo of the baby taken a few days before her death, and with Cross'
mother holding her, showed a black eye and dark bruise on the left side
of her forehead.
Autopsy photos revealed a constellation of
bruises, some older than others, across the baby's bottom, as well as
bruises behind one ear and on her neck.
Blisters and torn skin
inside the child's mouth and inland outside her lips were consistent
with force feeding her, according to the medical examiner, Krabbe said.
The
child also had finger nail marks gouged into her nose, most likely from
the force feeding. The medical examiner did not say if the marks were
from a male or female, only that they came from an adult, Krabbe said.
In
addition to the more benign explanations, both defendants seemed to
point the finger at the other spouse during initial interviews with
investigators, the detective said.
Cross, who was calm and even
giggled during his interview, said the baby could have suffered the
bruises on her forehead when his wife dropped Michaela on two occasions,
something Swanson denied, Krabbe said.
Swanson told police she
heard a loud bang and the baby crying one night, about a week prior to
the child's death, while the baby was with Cross in his bedroom, Krabbe
recalled.
The couple slept in different rooms. Swanson, who was
on maternity leave, took care of the child during the day while Cross
cared for the baby at night, Swanson told Krabbe.
And though
Swanson and Cross both said they noticed bruises and saw the child
become limp and lethargic, even fearing the baby lost consciousness on
at least one occasion prior to her death, neither of them took Michaela
to the hospital, Krabbe said.
"(The medical examiner) said if the
baby had received immediate medical care (after the skull fracture) she
could have been saved, but she probably would have been brain damaged,"
Krabbe said.
Cross' attorney, Alternate Public Defender Rodney
Buck, sought to undermine the coroner's findings, calling them a theory
and noting further tests were being done at the time of the preliminary
hearing.
Buck also focused on his client not admitting to any
abuse, noting his client said the baby "could have" been bruised during
"rough play" or from her head wobbling.
Swanson's attorney, Greg
Hill, focused on one of his client's explanations to investigators, in
which she said the marks on the baby's face may not have been an injury
but due to Michaela's skin tone changing because Swanson is white and
Cross is black.
During cross-examination, Hill asked Krabbe if
the medical examiner had any experience in infant death cases involving
multiracial children.
Judge Meyer blasted that explanation during
her ruling, noting the photo of the baby taken with her grandmother a
few days before the infant's death showed clear signs of injury.
"It looks like the child's left side of her face ... is smashed in," the judge said.
"I think it's a reverse form of racism," she said of Swanson's claim.
"I
think these people are a danger to society and should both be locked
up," Meyer added, before ordering the defendants held on $250,000 bail
each.
The pair are scheduled to return to the Long Beach Superior Court on Dec. 27, for arraignment.

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_19533175

Poor little thing. What really went on in that home. Rest In peice little one. :(

OMG...this poor baby lived through 31 days of hell! What is wrong with these people. They were much too old to know better.

Snipped from above:

"LONG BEACH -- Authorities on Friday officially
revoked the license of a social worker and 34-year-old Long Beach mother who stands accused of felony child abuse in the beating death of her 31-day-old baby."

Was the mother a social worker or is that a different person. I can't figure it out from the article. If she is, then she is really a sicko.

babyjustice wrote:OMG...this poor baby lived through 31 days of hell! What is wrong with these people. They were much too old to know better.

Snipped from above:

"LONG BEACH -- Authorities on Friday officially
revoked the license of a social worker and 34-year-old Long Beach mother who stands accused of felony child abuse in the beating death of her 31-day-old baby."

Was the mother a social worker or is that a different person. I can't figure it out from the article. If she is, then she is really a sicko.

Swanson was trained specifically to work with children and was deemed a potential
danger to clients by the Attorney General's Office, which oversees
licensing of social workers, authorities said.

They are one in the same!

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

babyjustice wrote:OMG...this poor baby lived through 31 days of hell! What is wrong with these people. They were much too old to know better.

Snipped from above:

"LONG BEACH -- Authorities on Friday officially
revoked the license of a social worker and 34-year-old Long Beach mother who stands accused of felony child abuse in the beating death of her 31-day-old baby."

Was the mother a social worker or is that a different person. I can't figure it out from the article. If she is, then she is really a sicko.

Swanson was trained specifically to work with children and was deemed a potential
danger to clients by the Attorney General's Office, which oversees
licensing of social workers, authorities said.

They are one in the same!

OMG...I am totally at a loss for words. This freakin mother should get the death penalty or life in prison at minimum.

A Long Beach couple whose 31-day-old daughter died last summer pleaded no contest Friday to felony child abuse and were immediately sentenced to prison terms.
Long Beach Superior Court Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani sentenced the baby’s mother, Melissa Swanson, 35, to nine years behind bars, according to Deputy District Attorney Carol Rose.

Michael Cross, 42, the father, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in state prison.

In addition to the child abuse count, the two also admitted allegations of child abuse resulting in death and use of a dangerous weapon — a hard surface, the prosecutor said.
Cross additionally pleaded no contest to a charge of possession of cocaine base, Rose said.

The two were charged in the Aug. 11, 2011, death of their daughter, Michaela. Paramedics were called to their home in the 600 block of Magnolia Avenue, where the baby was in cardiac arrest, and tried unsuccessfully to save her.

The infant died from blunt force trauma to the head. She suffered numerous injuries over a two-week period before her death, including two black eyes and a burn on the cheek and under the chin, the prosecutor said.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/03/02/long-beach-couple-pleads-no-contest-in-31-day-old-daughters-death/

babyjustice wrote:

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

babyjustice wrote:OMG...this poor baby lived through 31 days of hell! What is wrong with these people. They were much too old to know better.

Snipped from above:

"LONG BEACH -- Authorities on Friday officially
revoked the license of a social worker and 34-year-old Long Beach mother who stands accused of felony child abuse in the beating death of her 31-day-old baby."
Where is the hellfire emoticon?

Was the mother a social worker or is that a different person. I can't figure it out from the article. If she is, then she is really a sicko.

Swanson was trained specifically to work with children and was deemed a potential
danger to clients by the Attorney General's Office, which oversees
licensing of social workers, authorities said.

They are one in the same!

OMG...I am totally at a loss for words. This freakin mother should get the death penalty or life in prison at minimum.

"nine years behind bars" They BEAT a month old baby; the baby DIED (can't find the fire&pitchfork thingy)

TomTerrific0420 wrote:A Long Beach couple whose 31-day-old daughter died last summer pleaded no contest Friday to felony child abuse and were immediately sentenced to prison terms.
Long Beach Superior Court Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani sentenced the baby’s mother, Melissa Swanson, 35, to nine years behind bars, according to Deputy District Attorney Carol Rose.

Michael Cross, 42, the father, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in state prison.

In addition to the child abuse count, the two also admitted allegations of child abuse resulting in death and use of a dangerous weapon — a hard surface, the prosecutor said.
Cross additionally pleaded no contest to a charge of possession of cocaine base, Rose said.

The two were charged in the Aug. 11, 2011, death of their daughter, Michaela. Paramedics were called to their home in the 600 block of Magnolia Avenue, where the baby was in cardiac arrest, and tried unsuccessfully to save her.

The infant died from blunt force trauma to the head. She suffered numerous injuries over a two-week period before her death, including two black eyes and a burn on the cheek and under the chin, the prosecutor said.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/03/02/long-beach-couple-pleads-no-contest-in-31-day-old-daughters-death/

9 years? Nine years? WTH is this judge on? Is he the judge on youtube beating his daughter?

This is a disgusting sentence. How long with the baby killers actually serve.

This is such a miscarriage of justice. This is awful.

JMO.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

babyjustice wrote:OMG...this poor baby lived through 31 days of hell! What is wrong with these people. They were much too old to know better.

Snipped from above:

"LONG BEACH -- Authorities on Friday officially
revoked the license of a social worker and 34-year-old Long Beach mother who stands accused of felony child abuse in the beating death of her 31-day-old baby."

Was the mother a social worker or is that a different person. I can't figure it out from the article. If she is, then she is really a sicko.

Swanson was trained specifically to work with children and was deemed a potential
danger to clients by the Attorney General's Office, which oversees
licensing of social workers, authorities said.

They are one in the same!

Her job should have qualified her for a longer sentence, not a lighter one. What is wrong with this judge? What was he thinking?

Has he ever served on jury duty in Pinellas County Florida?