Nanny Charged After Cameras Catch Her Bashing Baby

AP via FOX News ^ | October 14, 2003

[new cruelty]

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A woman has been charged with child abuse after "nanny cams (search)" showed her bashing a baby on the kitchen floor and forcefully shaking the 5-month-old girl, police said.

One clip shows Claudia Muro (search), 29, raising the baby above her head and "slamming her on the floor three or possibly four times," according to a police report by Officer Susan J. Hayes released Friday. Muro's back is to the camera, and the lower view of the baby is blocked by the woman's body.

[new cruelty]

One clip shows Claudia Muro (search), 29, raising the baby above her head and "slamming her on the floor three or possibly four times," according to a police report by Officer Susan J. Hayes released Friday. Muro's back is to the camera, and the lower view of the baby is blocked by the woman's body.

I pray this 5 month old child will be alright. I need a dandelion break.

[Always Right]

Somehow I just see the courts stepping in and claiming this lady has a right to privacy while babysitting and throwing out the evidence.

[Support Free Republic]

Got a minute?

I'd really like you to rub my ears,
or help out FR.

[CanisRex]

I don't even want to intimate that I think the parents deserved this... However, that being said, these people put their social status (prosecutor & social worker) above the needs of their child. I think they are as culpable of child abuse, neglect, endangerment, etc. as the maniacal nanny.

[smadurski]

and dont forget if she is an illegal alien it would just be racist to pick on her.

[Eva]

No, more than likely the courts will rule that the parents were in the wrong for hiring an illegal alien and that they should have looked beyond the false identification the woman most likely presented to the agency.

[TADSLOS]

I hope this evil be-ach gets a double dose of her own medicine.

[Sir Gawain]

It's a miracle the baby is alive. I hope they save the tape and show it to her when she's an adult, along with the sitter's current address.

[smadurski]

I would agree if they just handed the child over to her with no background check.

[new cruelty]

That would be just.

[new cruelty]

I'm not sure what to think about your post. I'll give it some thought and get back to you.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Um....mothers need to be with their own children.
America MUST return to some type of traditional family structure and traditional values culture if we are to survive as a civilization. Infants and toddlers need to be with their Moms. Politicians and corporations must support paying fathers to support traditional families. This is non-PC news, but it needs to be said and repeated often.
The career Mom world of feminism and the sexual revolution leaves only casualties, stress, and social problems.
And 43-yr-old women on fertility drugs.

[JesseHousman]

The first-time parents -- a former prosecutor and a social worker...

What a combination.

If the mother stays home and takes care of her child, the child may take care of her someday! If she doesn't the child may take care of her anyway!

It doesn't matter if they hire a 29 year old loser to come into the home and act as a nanny or drop the child off at a day care center like they would drop off their dry cleaning. Not taking care of your own children is dangerous.

[laotzu]

"I don't even want to intimate that I think the parents deserved this... I think they are as culpable of child abuse..as the maniacal nanny."

Clearly put.

[JesseHousman]

I agree with you!

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Decline of civilization ping.

[soozla]

"One clip shows Claudia Muro (search), 29, raising the baby above her head and "slamming her on the floor three or possibly four times," according to a police report by Officer Susan J. Hayes released Friday. Muro's back is to the camera, and the lower view of the baby is blocked by the woman's body."

Another poster responded to an earlier thread similar to this with my thoughts EXACTLY:

Why in the hell didn't the parents, if they suspected the nanny was abusing the child, tell her that she was being recorded, without telling her any details of the camera location(s), and if she objected to it, fire her sorry butt!! Why do they allow this monster to injure their baby further, sacrificing the child's health and possibly her life, just to "catch" this scum-bag in the act and on camera?????

Could someone explain it to me, please?? What am I not "getting"?

What could they POSSIBLY gain from allowing this to go on one nano-second more??

[Lizavetta]

Betcha these parents have found, or will soon find, another stranger to mother their daughter, instead of dumping one of their careers and raising their daughter themselves.....

Wanna bet?

[GovernmentShrinker]

"Social worker" isn't exactly a high-status or high-paying occupation. Sounds more like mom was a naive do-gooder than a status and money seeker. After taxes, she probably didn't clear a whole lot more than she was paying the nanny.

[Bigg Red]

The first-time parents -- a former prosecutor and a social worker -- said they thought they had done everything right when they hired Muro to take care of their child after reviewing nine applicants.

^^
Well, first-time parents and all parents are doing "everything right" when they take care of their own children instead of farming them out to a stranger. Child rearing isn't piece-work. It's a shame this precious child had to suffer because her parents couldn't be bothered taking care of their own flesh and blood.

[arkfreepdom]

BS.

[Humbug]

My reading of the situation is that they always had the Nanny Cam on and recording but they just didn't review the tapes carefully. However after they noticed what appeared to be the bite mark they went back and reviewed the tapes with more care and so that was when they discovered the abuse.

[hunter112]

Infants and toddlers need to be with their Moms.

I was waiting for the 19th Century types to appear on this thread! Sorry, we're not going back to there, or buggy whips, either. In a modern society, a woman's brain is respected, if she wants to do something other than listen to Barney tapes all day.

These people's big mistake is letting a foreigner from a country that has nothing but contempt for Americans to take care of their child. Eastern European women do au pair work competently every day.

[Bigg Red]

I think they are as culpable of child abuse, neglect, endangerment, etc.
**
agreed

[Bigg Red]

I would agree if they just handed the child over to her with no background check.


**
Why hand their precious child over to anyone?

[cyborg]

Out on Long Island, the rich libs hire illegal Irish and Polish women to care for the children that inconvenience their lavish lives.

[No Blue States]

So do i.

This worries me, We both work. One check would mean near poverty. But if i thought my child was in danger poverty would be better.

Someone needs to kick this womans $^@#%#&.

[Bigg Red]

The career Mom world of feminism and the sexual revolution leaves only casualties, stress, and social problems.
&&
Amen! Amen!

[GovernmentShrinker]

Surely they didn't suspect anything nearly this serious, and they probably also suspected that the little girl might be acting upset just because mommy was about to leave. I remember some scenes from my babysitting days where toddlers with separation anxiety would start screaming their heads off the minute I walked in the door, because they knew it meant mommy and daddy were about to desert them (and this was just evening babysitting, while mom and dad went out to dinner).

[Bigg Red]

The career Mom world of feminism and the sexual revolution leaves only casualties, stress, and social problems.
^^

Sadly, I must agree.

[Bigg Red]

"Social worker" isn't exactly a high-status or high-paying occupation.

%%

Maybe, not where you live. That all depends on where the person works.
But, at any rate, this is beside the point. Your "naive do-gooder" wasn't doing her helpless daughter much good, was she?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Gee, I'm so glad my parents were "19th-century" types. No foreign psycho ever body-slammed me during my early years. Thank God, we had a NORMAL family. This feminazi penis envy crap is destroying Western culture. These broken-down, childless, low-estrogen unfulfilled 40-yr-old women must be having a great time in therapy. They all look so happy. I guess they can thank Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and all the other self-actualized 20th-century types who made this culture of death possible. It's gonna "take a village" to take care of all these bitter aging women.

[Solson]

This is why it is so important that children are raised by their parents...not in a kiddie kennel nor by a nanny. They'll be better and more safe because of it and the "parent guilt complex" won't be so damn strong.

Whichever feminist created the illusion that a woman "can have everything" without sacrifice is full of it.

[olivia3boys]

Yes, but it is extremely unusual (I've read) for such a young baby (4-5) months to have separation anxiety like that.

What a scary story.

(For the record, I work P/T, two days a week, but my children are cared for by their loving grandmas. . .)

[stands2reason]

You're right. Parents raising their children is soo old-fashioned. So it was better back then. Who cares? Women need to feel good about themselves and they can't do that while civilizing the next generation---it's such a nothing job. They need to write avertisements for toothpaste, or sell auto insurance, those jobs are much more worthwhile to society. (/sarcasm)

[Scourge of God]

These people's big mistake is letting a foreigner from a country that has nothing but contempt for Americans to take care of their child. Eastern European women do au pair work competently every day.

No, their big mistake was choosing career over child-raising. Too bad it’s the child that paid (and pays) for the parent’s selfishness.

[coloradan]

Then again, it might be that the tax rates are now such that both parents have to work in order to sustain the family. Gone are the days that a single income household is comfortable. Should it ever come to pass that citizens are allowed to keep more of the fruits of their labor, one parent might just stay home and the other work. Which parent do you think might prefer to stay home, in a majority of cases? (And, not because of "sexism" or a glass ceiling or other such.)

[oust the louse]

"I don't even want to intimate that I think the parents deserved this... However, that being said, these people put their social status (prosecutor & social worker) above the needs of their child. I think they are as culpable of child abuse, neglect, endangerment, etc. as the maniacal nanny."

BINGO....a social worker is far from being highly paid.Why not just give up that income to nurture this beautiful new child thru it's most critical years...isn't that why you become a parent?

[mrs tiggywinkle]

*** In a modern society, a woman's brain is respected, if she wants to do something other than listen to Barney tapes all day. ***

I'm hardly of the 19th century, hunter. I'm a stay at home mother and home educator. I don't eat bon bons, watch soaps, or watch Barney tapes. Obviously, you don't know many stay at home mothers. We haven't checked our brains at the door. Free Republic has *many* stay at home mothers posting. Please, reconsider your comments.

[stands2reason]

Yes, but it is extremely unusual (I've read) for such a young baby (4-5) months to have separation anxiety like that.

Absolutely. Separation anxiety cames right about the time the little one begins to walk....it's a survival mechanism so baby wouldn't wander too far away from the campfire.

[Ukiapah Heep]

It won't take a village, just a bunch of icebergs.

[soozla]

"The parents installed the undercover cameras after their daughter started crying and squirming when she was turned over to Muro."

It looks like they installed the cameras the day AFTER the baby was crying and they suspected something was up, but they didn't review the tapes closely until they noticed the bite mark........which makes my point.....why would these parents NOT say to the nanny on the day they set up the camera, "By the way, we've installed a surveillance camera , if you don't like it, QUIT."

Chances are she would have

1.) NOT harmed the baby anymore since she was aware they had a camera somewhere...or.....

2.) Quit....

Either way, their baby wouldn't have been body slammed to the floor or bashed about like a ragdoll IF THEY HAD JUST MADE NANNY AWARE THAT A CAMERA WAS IN PLACE AND OPERATING!!

Who knows, it could have saved that child an additional hour, day, week, 2 weeks, one month of abuse, depending upon the length of time between when they set up the camera and when they noticed the bite mark and reviewed the tape closer!!!!

[Modernman]

Then again, it might be that the tax rates are now such that both parents have to work in order to sustain the family.

Bingo.

[hunter112]

Hey, for all of you who want to stay home with your kids, fine. I admit, I don't hang out with stay at home moms, I've been talking with women that put up with crap from a boss, and the boss's customers because its still better than vegging out at home for them. Its always interesting to see the two sides each defending their own way by knocking the other, and calling the other position illegitimate. Why the two sides cannot call a truce, I'll never understand.

But the point remains, we are not going back to "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyles as the only legitimate role model for people who wish to procreate.

[Swede Girl]

"In a modern society, a woman's brain is respected, if she wants to do something other than listen to Barney tapes all day."

THEN DON'T HAVE CHILDREN! The most enjoyable time of a mother's life should be those few precious "Barney Years"! I agree with all of those on this thread who feel that these parents were equally guilty.

I think that mom should stay home and do her own "social work" with her own baby. There is time enough in the later years to have a career! Of course, the situation is different for those moms who must work to support their families, but, in this case, I suspect that the mother just needed to "get out" and do her own thing. This couple will have a new nanny quite soon rather than have one of them stay home with the child, you can bet on it.

[TankerKC]

"I handed my daughter to her and when I left she became a monster."

Hindsight here...but, why not get rid of the sitter immediately. They put their kid at risk in order to get video.

[sasafras]

Hmm let me see, parents decide to have baby, act like they love baby then hand baby over to a complete stranger who abuses baby and parents find themselves asking why? MESSAGE TO PARENTS; IF YOU CANT AFFORD TO RAISE THE BABY YOURSELF THEN DONT HAVE THE BABY. I can understand that there are cirucumstances which require a single parent to work but it DOESN'T work in this case - both are professionals and if they would quit spending so much damn money on themselves their brand new SUVs then the baby that they apparantly love wouldnt have been nearly killed by this illegal alien stranger. Duh!!!!!!! Damn idiots!! I really believe that some people should be forced into surgery to become sterile.

[laotzu]

"In a modern society, a woman's brain is respected..."

"Modern" women should be servile, silent, & appreciative.
(and have big gazongas)

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Our mother had a college degree and a career before she married. At home, she taught us to read, how to pray, how to play the piano, and how to love another. She taught Sunday School, piano lessons, and tutored high school students while raising her own children. In her early 40s, she returned to professional life. I never recall her opinion or "brain" being undervalued at home.
And it sounds like feminazi crap to me to refer to this as "19th-century" or to depreciate the deep mystery of a mother caring for her own children in a Christian home. It is good to have had those early positive bonds with one's natural mother. Nothing 19th-century or Victorian about that.

At any rate, I am glad we were never farmed out to strangers who, apparently, occasionally body-slam infants and toddlers.