Burlington Woman Released on Bail After Medical Examiner's Office Reverses its Finding

BURLINGTON, MA - A Burlington woman charged with killing a 6-month-old girl she was caring for has been granted bail after the state Medical Examiner’s Office reversed its finding that the child died after being violently shaken, according to cbslocal.com..

Pallavi Macharla, 40, of Burlington, was arraigned in March in Middlesex Superior Court on murder charges and operating an unlicensed child care program following the death of a child in her care in 2014.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys on Monday reached a deal to allow Macharla free on $25,000 bail pending her trial on murder charges

On Thursday, March 27, 2014, a 6-month-old baby girl was left in the care of a neighbor, Pallavi Macharla, who regularly provided child care for the baby, according to the Middlesex district attorney’s office.

It was alleged that at approximately 2:40 p.m. that day, Macharla called the baby’s mother to say the baby was not breathing. The mother drove to Macharla’s home and saw Macharla performing mouth-mouth respirations on her daughter who was limp and non responsive. The mother immediately called 911. The defendant reported the baby became unresponsive after vomiting following a feeding. First responders arriving at the residence on Baron Park Lane in Burlington found the baby unresponsive, pulseless and apneic. The child was transported by ambulance to Lahey Hospital and then to Boston Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead on March 30, 2014.

Diagnostic tests and studies were performed, which revealed the baby was suffering from diffuse subdural hemorrhaging, diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhaging, diffuse and multilayered bilateral retinal hemorrhages and retinoschisis.

Authorities say the defendant did not have a daycare license and was cited by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care for providing unlicensed child care in her home.