By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The baby whose Centralia mother was arrested after it was hospitalized with head injuries has died.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says the 4-month-old boy was pronounced dead at 4:36 p.m. today at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.
Rachel Bryan, 20, was arrested early Wednesday at a home in Grand Mound where she was visiting and remains held in the Thurston County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Medics had been called to the home the day before for a child in distress. The infant was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, and then transferred to Mary Bridge where it was put on life support, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Clark said today he assumes the charges will change, but that is up to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office.
I hope they prosecute her to the fullest extent possible. To hurt any person or animal is revolting, but to injure a child is sickeningly abhorrent. This is devastating. The idea of having to take a test and meet certain requirements to be granted the gift of raising a child does not seem like to strange an option when I see things like this happen. As a person in the childcare profession I am seriously disgusted, saddened and effected by events like this one. We as a society obviously still have massive room for improvement when it comes to education about natal/child care and the support system it takes.