Mother Charged With Murdering Infant Daughter

A South Side woman charged late Friday with murdering her 7-month-old daughter struggled to keep back tears as a judge denied her bond on Saturday.

Vanessa Urbina, 23, of the 10600 block of South Avenue E, was charged late Friday with one count of first-degree murder in the 2009 death of her infant daughter.

Police said the girl -- identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office as 7-month-old Isaly Navia -- suffered blunt force trauma to the head around 5 p.m. on July 24, 2009.

The Medical Examiner’s Office indicated the incident happened at their home, and police said Urbina was in sole possession of the girl when she was injured. 

The child was initially taken in critical condition to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. Isaly died at the hospital three days later, and an autopsy determined she died of cranio-cerebral injuries from blunt head trauma caused by child abuse.  The death was ruled a homicide, according to the M.E.'s Office.

Urbina initially said the girl had fallen, but the child’s injuries did not appear consistent with that story, police said.  Urbina later told police she shook the baby because she wouldn't stop crying, according to prosecutors.

The Tribune reported that it took so long to file the murder charges because prosecutors first wanted to thoroughly examine the evidence and conduct interviews.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services also investigated and placed four other children in the home in the care of relatives, spokesman Kendall Marlowe said after Isaly's death. DCFS had not had prior contact with the family before the infant's death, he said. 

Urbina has no prior criminal history.

Copyright SunTimes / NBC Chicago

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