Local mom may face capital murder trial in death of baby girl

A Houston mother who allegedly told police she repeatedly punched and dropped her 5-month-old daughter to make her stop crying was charged with capital murder in the child’s death.

Tradezsha Bibbs, 22, was being held without bail in the Harris County Jail after being arrested Saturday in the death of tiny Brielle Janai-Warsale Robinson, who died at Texas Children’s Hospital on April 16, two days after being brought in unresponsive.

Bibbs allegedly told police she hesitated before taking the child to the hospital because she had a pending investigation with Child Protective Services.

Tiffani Butler, a spokeswoman with the Department of Family Services, confirmed that there was an earlier investigation but said she could not give any details, including whether the investigation involved the infant or perhaps some other child or children.

Bibbs told investigators that she “started to not care about the child’s well-being,” after checking in to a motel with the infant on April 14, according to a sworn statement submitted to the court by Houston Police Department investigators.

She told police she repeatedly would “pop” the child in the face, chest and ribs, and threw the child on the bed several times, causing the child to fall on the floor, according to HPD. She said she called 911 when the baby stopped breathing.

Bibbs initially told police she was delivering groceries to her grandmother’s home when the baby fell out of a car seat and hit the concrete on the afternoon of April 13. Bibbs said her grand-

mother told her to take the baby to the hospital, but she decided not to because of the pending CPS investigation, authorities said.

Bibbs told police that the baby seemed “fine” so she took her to the Red Roof Inn on the Gulf Freeway where the young mother was staying. Bibbs said she called 911 after the child’s breathing became raspy and she stopped breathing.

A doctor at Texas Children’s discovered the infant had fractured ribs, a lacerated liver and bleeding in her brain. She also had several other injuries, all of which indicated child abuse.

“The rib fractures appear to be at different ages,” the doctor wrote in his notes. “These injuries cannot be sustained by a fall from a car seat as described by mom. They are the result of abuse.”

Confronted with the doctors’ findings, Bibbs changed her story, according to court records.

Attorney Robert Scardino was appointed Monday to represent Bibbs. He said that he is in the early stages of investigating what happened.

Bibbs is scheduled to appear in state District Judge Ryan Patrick’s court on Wednesday. Because she is accused of intentionally killing a child under the age of 10, she is charged with a capital offense. If convicted, she could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The decision about whether to seek death is typically made months after an arrest.