Brenwyn Richey, a 26-year-old mother from Blackfoot, Idaho, faces a felony charge of injury to a child after witnesses reported her shaking and jolting her one-week-old daughter like a rag doll. Police say Richey admitted to using excessive force, including aggressively bouncing the infant on her knee. The child showed signs of internal injuries and was removed from her home by Child Protective Services.
Witnesses told Blackfoot Police that Richey yanked the infant by the leg without proper neck support when she was just one week old and shook her for up to 15 minutes until she stopped crying. Richey reportedly justified the actions by telling a witness the baby was 'not made of glass' and that 'people do it all the time,' according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime on Thursday. Other accounts described her bouncing the child aggressively on her knee and placing her on the bed with excessive force over two months after birth. A prior report noted THC exposure at birth, CPS officials said. Blackfoot Police responded to a domestic disturbance at Richey's apartment on December 28. She admitted to officers that she was 'aggressive with her baby sometimes' and demonstrated the forceful leg-bouncing motion, acknowledging it was a recurring issue she was trying to address. The next day, December 29, another call led CPS to remove the girl from the home after consulting the Bonneville County Attorney's Office. A medical evaluation on January 2 found the infant's eyes abnormally droopy for her age and possible internal injuries. A follow-up on January 18 revealed persistent internal swelling of undetermined cause. Based on Richey's admissions, witness statements, and medical findings, police established probable cause for the felony charge, which carries up to 10 years in prison. Richey is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 9.