Sadai Higgenbotham showed little emotion when a Cobb County detective said her 10-month-old daughter was in the hospital dying from injuries police said she caused.
Detective Ed Stockinger testified at a probable cause hearing Tuesday that the 26-year-old mother was unconcerned that baby Laura sustained bruises, broken bones, an injured spine and severe brain trauma, Channel 2 Action News reported.
“During the entire interview, she really didn't show much emotion,” Stockinger said. “... When I went to walk out of the room, she started trashing the interview room, picking up chairs, throwing the chairs at the door, then flipping the table over.”
Higgenbotham has remained in the Cobb County jail on murder, aggravated assault and child cruelty charges since her Aug. 6 arrest in her child’s “violent shaking” death. Laura was taken to the hospital with injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, but later died.
“The child had a pacifier tied around its neck as a string,” Stockinger said, “and there was actually lacerations, like old lacerations, around the child's neck like the string was pulled tight around the child's neck.”
Officials said Higgenbotham refused to get Laura help even though she knew something was wrong, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Sidrick Melancon was also charged with influencing a witness. Stockinger testified in court that Melancon tried to prevent his girlfriend from telling authorities about Laura’s injuries and asked her and Higgenbotham to lie about what happened.
Melancon remains in the Cobb County jail without bond.
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