Babysitter Sentenced to Prison for Shaking Infant, Causing Decades-Long Suffering and Eventual Death

August 25, 2024

FLORIDA: A heartbreaking and disturbing case has come to a close in Florida, as Terry McKirchy, a former babysitter, was sentenced to three years in prison for shaking an infant, Benjamin Dowling, in 1984. The incident left Dowling with severe mental and physical disabilities, ultimately leading to his death at the age of 35 in 2019.



McKirchy was 22 years old when she shook Dowling, who was just five months old at the time. She initially claimed that Dowling had fallen off the couch, but later admitted to shaking him due to feeling "extremely overwhelmed and exhausted" while watching him and several other children.



McKirchy was first arrested in 1984, but as part of a plea deal, she pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder and aggravated battery on a child in 1985. Due to her pregnancy at the time, the judge ordered her to serve her sentence on weekends only until her child was born.



In 2021, McKirchy was indicted on first-degree murder charges after an autopsy confirmed that Dowling's death was caused by the injuries she inflicted in 1984. She ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation.



During the sentencing hearing, Dowling's cousin, Pamela Chestnut, addressed McKirchy, saying, "Terry, you knew what you did, you know. And you let those poor parents bring their beautiful son back to you, and you did it again, you shook him harder and longer than the first time."