Day care worker Googled ‘shaken baby syndrome’ as girl died, cops say. She’s sentenced

An in-home day care worker accused of shaking a 7-week-old baby to death will spend more than a decade in prison, according to Illinois police and news reports.

Taylor Burris, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday, April 25, to second-degree murder, Macon County jail records show. She was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery, child endangerment and murder.

She was sentenced to 14 years in prison, WAND and WICS reported.

The sentencing stems from the May 18, 2022, death of Maren Gallagher, a 7-week-old girl from Bement, Illinois, according to the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office.

Autopsy results showed the baby “sustained injury to her head,” which the coroner called “highly suspicious.”

Burris was arrested nearly a month after Maren’s death, jail records show.

Burris initially said Maren sustained her fatal injury after being hit by a softball, according to an affidavit obtained by the Herald & Review. She eventually changed her story, saying the baby had been hit by a ball, but that she also shook the baby because she wouldn’t stop crying, authorities said.

As Maren was dying in the hospital, Burris is accused of Googling “shaken baby syndrome,” WAND and the WCIA reported, citing court documents.

Burris waited more than three hours to seek help after Maren suffered her injuries, according to court documents obtained by WCIA.

“What absolutely killed me is knowing that Maren felt pain and suffered so long before help arrived,” Mac Gallagher, Maren’s father, said in court April 25, the Herald & Review reported.

Bement is about a 170-mile drive northeast from St. Louis.

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