Infant "John" HARVIN - 3 months - (2010) Columbia SC

The mother of a 3-month-old boy who died Monday in a Columbia hospital faces a homicide by child abuse charge.

The infant was found unresponsive in his home early Sunday and died at
3:10 p.m. Monday with a fractured skull, Police Chief Patty Patterson
said in a news release. Rayshana Harvin, 20, of 112 Byrd St., is being
charged in the death.


An autopsy has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today at Newberry Pathology Associates, Sumter County Coroner Harvin Bullock said.

According
to reports, when officers and Sumter County Emergency Medical Services
arrived at the home at 3:48 a.m. Sunday, they found the infant to be
unresponsive and not breathing. He was taken by EMS to Tuomey Regional
Medical Center, where medical personnel were able to regain a pulse.
The baby was then taken by helicopter to Palmetto Health Richland.

Harvin
was taken into custody after police questioning during which she
"implicated herself in the physical abuse of her child," police said.

She
was initially charged with unlawful abuse or conduct toward a child.
The charge was upgraded after the baby died. Harvin is in Sumter-Lee
Regional Detention Center, and her bond is pending, police said.

Harvin's
two older children — boys ages 3 and 2 — are in emergency protective
custody of the state Department of Social Services.

"Detectives
are actively working this issue to determine what led up to this tragic
incident," Patterson said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone
who has information is asked to call Sumter police at (803) 436-2700 or
Crime Stoppers at (803) 436-2718. Callers may remain anonymous and may
be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500.

- Bond has been set for the 20-year-old woman accused of being responsible for the death of her
three-month-old son.



Rayshana Harvin was charged in January with homicide by child abuse,
and a judge set her bond at $100,000.
Investigators believe Harvin's young son was injured sometime before
the day he died, and doctors at Tuomey Hospital determined that his
skull had been fractured.Police say Harvin admitted to them
that she was responsible for some form of child abuse, and they say she
caused the child's skull fracture.
Investigators say Harvin lived at her parents' home, with her three
children, when the incident occurred. Harvin's father said the
20-year-old told him that an accident caused the fracture, but police believe otherwise.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=649521
Sumter mother gets 20 years in son's death

by WACH Fox News Center

Posted: 08.09.2011 at 8:59 AM


SUMTER, S.C. (WACH, AP) -- A 22-year-old Sumter woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to homicide by child abuse in the death of her 3-month old son.
The Item of Sumter reported that Rayshana Lee Harvin pleaded guilty Monday to inflicting a severe skull fracture on King Robinson Jan. 10, 2010.
Records showed officers got a 911 call from a home on Byrd Street in Sumter. The caller indicated a three-month-old was not breathing. Police say Harvin was at the home with the child, her parents, sister, and two other sons.

EMS transported the three-month-old to Tuomey Hospital where medical personnel were able to regain a pulse. Authorities say x-rays of the child showed he had a skull fracture. The boy was then transported by helicopter to Richland Memorial Hospital. The boy died the next day.


Investigators say, when questioned, Harvin admitted she had a hand in causing her child's injuries.