Fort Lauderdale Shaken Baby Case From 1984 Leads To Murder Charge.

CBS Miami

July 27, 2021

A woman who 35 years ago pleaded no contest to attempted murder for shaking a five-month-old boy so severely that he suffered brain damage is now facing a possible life sentence.

A Broward grand jury recently indicted Terry McKirchy with first-degree murder after a Florida medical examiner said the boy, Benjamin Dowling, succumbed to those injuries when he died in 2019 after a life with severe mental and physical disabilities.

McKirchy is now jailed near her home in Sugar Land, Texas, pending her return to Florida. McKirchy, who has previously denied injuring the boy, has waived extradition, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said. The South Florida SunSentinel first reported the arrest.

CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.