Terry McKirchy, a former South Florida babysitter, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2019 death of Benjamin Dowling. McKirchy, now 62, admitted to injuring Dowling as a baby in 1984, leading to severe disabilities and his death at age 35 from a brain hemorrhage suffered under her care when he was 5 months old.
As detailed in the WSVN report, the indictment for first-degree murder was brought against McKirchy after an autopsy confirmed Dowling’s death was connected to the injury incurred so many years earlier, McKirchy having relocated to Sugar Land, Texas since the incident. The court witnessed McKirchy’s acceptance of a plea deal, resulting in a three-year prison sentence and ten years of probation despite the life sentence she previously faced. In a letter read by her attorney, she expressed remorse, attributing her actions to being overwhelmed by the care of numerous children.
McKirchy had initially received a surprisingly lenient sentence back in 1985 after pleading no contest to attempted murder—a sentence which saw her spending weekends in jail during her pregnancy, then subsequent release and probation for an additional three years, as AP News reported. At the time of her initial sentencing, she had claimed innocence and asserted that her conscience was clear, a position she maintained until her recent court admission.
On July 3, 1984, Rae Dowling found her baby, Benjamin, limp and with clenched fists when she picked him up from McKirchy’s care. He was hospitalized immediately and diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage from severe shaking. The Dowlings were shocked to learn of McKirchy’s plea deal just before it was finalized in court. Rae Dowling said in a 2021 statement that Benjamin’s life involved numerous surgeries and special education, but they believed he knew he was loved despite his inability to speak or move.
Shaken baby syndrome, now often referred to as "abusive head trauma" by the American Academy of Pediatrics, has seen a shift in understanding over recent decades. Research has suggested alternative causes for symptoms historically attributed to shaking, such as genetic disorders, diseases, and accidents, leading to the exoneration of some individuals previously convicted. The AP News report mentions that the University of Michigan's National Registry of Exonerations has listed 29 overturned convictions since 2000. The Academy now emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to be vigilant of possible signs of abuse in infants and young children, acknowledging that approximately 1 in 3,000 babies under 1 are abused annually by shaking.
