Sitter had baby 12 minutes: Parents suspected nothing violent about woman

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10300456

Published Thursday | April 3, 2008

BY MAGGIE O'BRIEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Twelve minutes.

That's all the time it took for a frustrated baby sitter to snap, fracture a baby's skull and change a family's world forever.

Jared and Emily Wentz said Wednesday that they are trying to comprehend how Mona Walker could, according to authorities, become angry enough March 26 to punch their 3½-month-old daughter Lauren twice in the face and violently swing her into a door.


Jared and Emily Wentz, with baby Lauren, who is in a drug-induced coma at Creighton University Medical Center.


Jared Wentz said that after leaving his daughter in Walker's care that morning, he hadn't even arrived at his job when the baby sitter phoned his cell, hysterical, saying Lauren was injured.

"I mean, it was only 12 minutes," Jared Wentz said in a telephone interview from his daughter's hospital bedside. "My heart started beating so fast I thought I was having a heart attack."

Walker has told police that the baby was crying uncontrollably as she removed her from the infant car seat/carrier.


Walker


Despite authorities' early suspicions, the couple at first thought it had to be an accident. After all, Walker seemed the perfect sitter.


FULL story at link.

[Echo In Light]

1. Next, on...

[MuseRider]

12. Delete wrong place.

[El Pinko]

2. Ugh. This is why my wife and I have NEVER used a sitter.

We had to forego eating out as a couple and clubbing, etc., but we could never trust our kids to someone else.

Nobody else loves your children like you do.

[Echo In Light]

4. Same goes for us

[qanda]

6. My husband and I did the exact same thing

We sacrificed a lot but it was worth it because we didn't have to wonder how they were being treated.

[mcctatas]

7. Same here...

of course we are fortunate enough to have relatives in the same city....

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Same here.

[LibertyLover]

13. Same here

We don't go out without our daughter, not that with the economic climate the way it is that we're going out much anyway, but still. It's not worth the worry and concern that I'd have leaving her with a sitter to go out.

[MuseRider]

14. We did the same.

My mother lived in town and we used her on the rare occasions we both had to be gone to meetings or rehearsals. Once or twice a year we would splurge and she would babysit while we went out for dinner and as many movies as we could cram into one night.

It was worth it.

[El Pinko]

17. I'm amazed at how many people have said this.

Unfortunately, we didn't have family where we lived, so we were always stuck with the kids.

They are 10 and 8, so they are okay at home alone for short periods now, but we still take them with us if we go out to dinner.



It's funny, I used to babysit every week for some neighbors as a teen. But their kids were 5 and 8, so I guess it's different. I wouldn't have known what to do with a baby...

[Midlodemocrat]

19. LOL. Same here. No family nearby even now.

I am getting ready to leave them with an adult next week for the very first time. They are 17,15 and 11. We are going on a little vacation for the first time in 18 years.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. We always used my parents as sitters

and we were lucky we could do that.

This is just so sad. 12 minutes??

[Clark2008]

21. You don't have any parents?

My mother or mother-in-law are usually glad to give us a break.

[Midlodemocrat]

22. We didn't. Both sets were too ill and too far away to babysit.

And, they're all gone now. My kids lost all four grandparents and an aunt in a five year span. It truly sucked for them. My little one doesn't remember some of them.

[El Pinko]

23. Not where we lived.

We live near my wife's dad now, but the kids are bigger and he lives across town and is semi-convalescent.

[hlthe2b]

3. How horrendous...

Perhaps it is time to trust the loyal female family dog to care for the baby; some humans seem to be losing any common sense or instinct to care for each other....:eyes:

I hope for a miracle for this little one...

[qanda]

5. That is just terrible

I wonder how anyone could harm a little baby like that. I hope the baby will be okay.

[Mika]

9. Why, in the "richest, best, country in the world" does a 3 1/2 mo old need a baby sitter?

Why do both parents have to hand their child over to strangers to care for after 3 1/2 months?
Why is this?
No year long maternity/paternity leave like the civilized world. Virtually no universal child care programs.
Why are we forced to give up our primary responsibilities to scratch out a living to enrich corporations and their stockholders?

Face it - our uniquely American culture is, in essence, anti family, anti women, anti children.


:puke:


on edit: Just look at the threads here on DU about Mississippi and Florida creating more obstacles for poor(er) women having access to their personal private health care decisions (abortion).

[Squatch]

10. Yikes.

Back away from the Rage-ahol.

[Mika]

11. Huh? It is an outrage.

Please explain why I should back away?

Thanks.

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. You shouldn't and I agree with you.

[TheWatcher]

28. Yes, let's just all be passive and feel good.

Being outraged at something like this is a normal response.

[MuseRider]

16. I totally agree with you. n/t

[EFerrari]

18. You're right.

I was watching the Senate talk about the bailout for builders and lenders. They were talking about us exactly as they talk about the Iraqi people -- we have to get our act together! -- WHILE they are working on handing OUR money over to bail out the corporati.

We are just the occasion of their profits.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

25. Umm they may have been going out for a date..

My wife and I use Daycare during the day but at night when we go out we use a sitter..

Believe it or not even *if* you have a year of maternity leave sometimes you want to get away with your spouse to be alone..

[ProdigalJunkMail]

26. it mentions he was on his way to a job

but that was my first thought too...had to go back an reread...

now i am going to go puke up my lunch

sP

[Maine-ah]

20. I work nights and hubbie works days

once a week my Mom has BB for a couple of hours. Nobody outside of trusted family will ever babysit my kid. That poor little baby. Just doing what babies do. I hope she has a full recovery, and the baby sitter gets a full sentence of 20 years.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

24. How tragic

Reading the post I cant tell how much vetting they did... Were the faimly memebers kids being watch the same age?

I have an 18 yo relative coming up who is mortified that Ill still be using my regular sitter while she is here. But I dont know her well engough to trust here with my two pre-schoolers they can be very taxing (the older is an Angel; sweet, charming, fun, and a good self player when I want to do the dishes.. Her younger sister however just hit the terrible twos and boy is she a doozy...)

I find that unless the person currently deals with small kids in their every day life I don't really trust them to sit, my sitters each have siblings under 4 years old so they are used to it. My wife also sits with them the first time they sit and we use timeouts so we are sure to tell the sitter that if she does her due diligence (check the food, diaper, pain (injury tooth), temperature, other standard things) and holding or playing does not help to give the kid a few minutes in their room with music and toys, if that in and of itself does not calm them down it usually gets them calm enough to be held and comforted..

Prayers for the parents and baby