A Vermont woman accused of injuring her 11-month-old son will serve 30 days in jail after accepting a plea agreement that spared her a lengthy prison term.
Taylor Grenier, 31, pleaded guilty to aggravated domestic assault and received a suspended prison sentence of two to eight years. Under the agreement, she must serve 30 days at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, followed by five years of probation.
The case began on Aug. 8, 2024, when first responders were called to the Bradford Motel in Bradford, Vermont, where Grenier was living with her son. They found the baby lethargic and with bruising on his head.
Grenier initially said the child had fallen from a bed while they were sleeping. Medical personnel, however, determined that his injuries were inconsistent with that account. The baby later suffered a seizure and was placed on a ventilator.
Medical staff at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center found that the child had suffered several “non-accidental injuries,” according to the Valley News. Those injuries reportedly included bleeding near his brain, spine and eyes, along with damage to ligaments in his spine. Physicians believed the child had been shaken.
During the investigation, police interviewed people who knew Grenier. One friend reportedly said Grenier sometimes became overwhelmed when her son cried and had not always handled him carefully. The friend recalled seeing Grenier bump the baby’s head while removing him from a car.
The friend also told investigators that Grenier did not normally share a bed with her son. Grenier allegedly gave the friend a different explanation on the morning of the incident, saying the baby had fallen from his playpen.
The friend’s mother described other occasions when she believed Grenier had left the child unattended. She said she once saw the baby “awake and crying in the nonrunning car with the windows partially down.”
On another occasion, the woman said Grenier left the baby alone on a couch while she went outside to smoke. Grenier allegedly joked that her 80-pound pit bull was “watching” him.
None of the people interviewed by police said they had witnessed Grenier intentionally harm her son. The child is now 3 years old and lives in someone else’s custody, the Valley News reported.
After investigators told Grenier that the injuries could not have resulted from falling off a bed, she said she might have shaken the baby too forcefully while trying to wake him.
Grenier was originally charged with aggravated domestic assault and child cruelty. Prosecutors dismissed the child cruelty charge as part of the plea agreement.
At her Aug. 19 sentencing, Grenier was also ordered to undergo random drug testing and seek treatment for mental health and substance use issues.