Brandy Payne sentenced to 17 years in prison for killing her newborn son

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A Milwaukee County judge sentenced Brandy Payne on Friday, October 3rd to 17 years in prison plus another ten years of extended supervision. This, after she was found guilty in July of killing her seven-day-old son. Payne was convicted on a charge of first-degree reckless homicide.

According to the criminal complaint, last summer Payne told police she raised the baby over her head and then threw him to the kitchen floor following a telephone argument with the baby’s father. After throwing the baby, Payne told police she observed bleeding from the child’s head.

The complaint indicates Payne cleaned up the blood, put a cap on the baby’s head to conceal the injury before taking the baby to his father’s residence — where she left him with members of the father’s family. Emergency personnel was called to scene after it was discovered that the child was hurt.

When officials arrived on the scene they found a seven-day-old infant who was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Resuscitation efforts were started immediately.

While continuing lifesaving measures, the Fire Department transported the child to a medical vehicle. Once inside the vehicle,  a firefighter re-positioned the baby’s head and  noticed that it appeared to be very soft in the rear skull area. According to the complaint, the firefighter further stated that the entire head of the baby appeared soft and spongy, with swelling around the right temple area.

An autopsy of the seven-day-old baby showed trauma to the face and head, including bruising and abrasions to the face. The Medical Examiner also noted that the baby’s head appeared to be somewhat oblong and very spongy to the touch.