W.V. woman pleads guilty to killing foster child

A West Valley woman has pleaded guilty to killing an 18-month-old foster child in her care.

Jeannette Ilene Gomez, 30, changed a previous not guilty plea to a guilty plea Monday in Judge Michael K. Burton's 3rd District courtroom. She pleaded to a charge of second-degree felony child abuse homicide, a plea agreement that reduced a previous charge of first-degree felony murder.

On Oct. 22, 2003, police responded to a call that a baby had stopped breathing at a house near 3400 South and 6400 West. Gomez told police the baby fell from his crib and hit his head, according to court documents.

Gomez had told an officer she heard a "thud" and found the baby face down on the floor beside the crib. She said she carried the baby to another room and shook him several times in an attempt to revive him. Then she called 911 and tried CPR with a dispatcher over the phone, court documents state.

Authorities arrived at the house and found large purple and red swelling on the right side of the baby's head. He was airlifted to Primary Children's Medical Center. A trauma nurse told a detective she did not believe the baby had merely fallen from his crib. An ophthalmologist agreed; he examined the baby's eyes because of hemorrhaging.

The baby was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. the next day, court documents state.

The autopsy found hemorrhaging, various small contusions and injuries to the scalp, torso and extremities. The Utah State Medical Examiner's Office believes the injuries were caused by something with a velocity greater than the baby's weight dropped a few feet, court documents state.

Police believe Gomez was frustrated with the baby's crying and may have hit the baby or thrown him.

She will be sentenced April 5 in Burton's courtroom. She faces one to 15 years in prison.