APD: Austin mom charged in connection with baby's death
AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin mother has been charged with felony injury to a child in connection with the death of her baby earlier this month.
Tamara Lynn Calvery, 29, has been charged with first-degree felony injury to a child.
Tamara Lynn Calvery (Austin Police Department)
According to court documents, officers responded to an urgent check welfare call at an apartment in North Austin on Jan. 17. A woman, identified as Calvery in the paperwork, called 9-1-1 and reported she needed an ambulance for her 22-month-old baby. She told the operator the baby was not breathing and had a "big knot" on her head and that she had just fallen.
She said her baby "busted" her head on a dresser and fell about two-and-a-half feet. When asked what caused the fall, she said her baby threw herself down when she refused to walk, says the documents.
Calvery performed CPR per EMS instructions until officers and EMS took over. The child was transported to Dell Children's Hospital where she was rushed to the operating room "due to the acute severity of the injuries," says court paperwork.
Medical staff at the hospital when informed about the reported injury history became concerned as the injuries were inconsistent with the reported accidental trauma. Medical staff also noted the child had numerous bruises in "a concerning pattern and locations," all which appeared inconsistent with the reported accidental trauma, says court paperwork.
A detective with the Child Abuse unit met with Calvery, who told them the baby was born ten weeks premature and was developmentally delayed. She said the child was having problems learning to walk and was told the child was going to be "slow" but she was progressing. Calvery told the detective she didn't work and would take care of the child while her boyfriend was at work and that she was the only adult in the house when the incident happened, according to court paperwork.
According to Calvery, she was home, helping the child learn to walk. The child had been holding onto her fingers while they did laps around the apartment. Calvery said the child lost her grip, falling forward and banging her head into a nightstand, then fell on the floor. Calvery said that she tried to catch her, but since she had a bad knee, she was not able to. She said the right side of the child's head hit the nightstand, which was inconsistent with the injury pattern and location, according to court paperwork.
On Jan. 19, the child died from her injuries at Dell Children's Hospital. On Jan. 22, the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy on the child and found contusions and a skull fracture on the child's head. The cause of death was ruled blunt force trauma to the head.
Calvery later refused to cooperate with a request for a follow-up interview. Detectives spoke with Calvery's boyfriend who confirmed he was not at home when the child was reportedly injured, says court paperwork. He confirmed Calvery's story that she had called him and told him the baby was injured and unresponsive and that he had told her to call 9-1-1. He also told officers the child had no injuries the night before or when he left for work that morning.
