Mom Denied Bail In Death Of Infant Daughter: Prosecutor

ABERDEEN, MD — A mother charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in connection to the death of her 5-month-old daughter has been denied bail by a judge.

Maya Dennis, 32, appeared remotely for her bail review in Harford County District Court. The presiding judge deemed her "too dangerous," he said in court, and referred to the baby's death as an "extreme tragedy."

Assistant state's attorney Christine Cuomo said the baby's New Year's Eve death was not accidental and the doctors who treated the baby confirmed it. The baby was a twin who had been in the neonatal intensive care unit since her birth.

"She'd just been released from the NICU at Mt. Washington Hospital on Dec. 23," Cuomo said in court.

By Dec. 28, the infant was being rushed to Johns Hopkins Pediatric Trauma Center and died three days later, Patch reported previously.

"Her left femur and tibia were broken. She had multiple skull fractures, bleeding on the brain and around her eye sockets. The baby had irreversible brain damage," prosecutors said.

The defense asked for home detention and denied the allegations, calling the facts in the case "thin," according to WBAL. The defense said there was another adult present at the time the baby was injured who could have caused the fatal injuries.

"There was at least one other person in Ms. Dennis' apartment before this took place," said assistant public defender Sawyer Hicks.

Dennis' three surviving young children, including the victim's twin brother, are now being cared for by their grandparents in Baltimore City.