A 27-year-old woman was arrested in Kitsap County after investigators say an eight-week-old infant was brought to hospital with a brain bleed and multiple fractures that medical staff deemed consistent with non-accidental trauma.
Bremerton Police Department officials said the injuries were discovered after the baby was taken to the Virginia Mason Franciscan Emergency Room in Bremerton on Aug. 7 for projectile vomiting and diarrhea and then transferred to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. Doctors found a brain bleed and multiple fractures in various stages of healing, including 20 fractured ribs and six metaphyseal fractures, which a physician told investigators are not consistent with routine care or handling of an infant.
Court records obtained by KIRO and a Bremerton Police Department statement say investigators found Facebook messages the child’s mother allegedly sent to the baby’s father and a friend expressing homicidal intent toward the infant. In messages quoted in police records, the woman allegedly wrote that she wanted to "shake her to death or throw her on top of the floor so hard she dies" and said the baby’s cries made her feel like she was "gonna snap and murder." In another message she is recorded as saying the stress was "eating my f*****g sanity to bits."
Police say the mother admitted writing the messages but told investigators she did not mean them and that she had been suffering from postpartum depression and was in a state of "mental and emotional distress." Both she and the child’s father have denied causing the baby’s injuries, according to police. They reportedly told investigators the injuries resulted from their cat jumping on the infant and an instance when she was accidentally dropped.
Following the investigation, Shannon McNease was arrested Sept. 4 in Shelton and booked into the Kitsap County Jail. She was formally charged with attempted first‑degree murder and first‑degree assault of a child and held on $1 million bond, according to court records. The infant survived and was placed in the care of her grandparents, who told police McNease had difficulty coping when faced with multiple stressors.
Bremerton police said it was unclear whether any charges will be filed against the child’s father. The department has not released further information about the ongoing investigation or whether prosecutors have set a trial date.
Medical experts and law enforcement routinely cite multiple, contemporaneous fractures and certain types of fractures—such as metaphyseal fractures and multiple rib breaks—as indicators that warrant investigation for non-accidental trauma. In their statement, investigators said the combination of injuries and fractures in different healing stages raised those concerns.
The case comes amid broader debate in the United States about how to balance criminal accountability and access to mental‑health and postpartum support for parents. Advocates for victims of child abuse point to the need for swift investigation and protection of children, while mental‑health experts and some policymakers emphasize expanded screening and services for postpartum depression and other conditions that can affect parental behavior.
Prosecutors will review medical evidence, police findings and social‑media records as the case proceeds through Kitsap County courts. The infant remains in the grandparents’ care while authorities continue their investigation.