Jury finds mother guilty in shaken baby case

Linda Shepard; C & G Staff Writer

Rochester Post

A jury found Rochester Hills resident Tracey Brosch guilty of first-degree child abuse after her 14-month adopted daughter suffered severe brain damage last October.

A 12-person jury pronounced Brosch, 43, guilty at 10:45 a.m. June 26 in the Oakland County Circuit courtroom of Judge Steven Andrews.

Oakland County prosecutors state that young Kaitlyn Brosch suffered severe brain damage at her home the morning of Oct. 28. The child was alone with her mother in the home when the incident occurred.

Brosch took the infant to her local doctor and said the child was having difficulty breathing and would not wake up. The doctor began life-saving procedures and called for emergency medical transport. Kaitlyn was transported to Crittenton Hospital, then to William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, where she underwent surgery to relieve pressure on her brain.

Brosch and her husband adopted Kaitlyn in June of 2005 through the

adoption agency. The Broschs traveled to China to adopt Kaitlyn, and they have no other children.

The trial included testimony by a Crittenton Hospital pathologist, who stated that Kaitlyn’s subdural hematoma — which caused the brain damage — was not a chronic condition.

Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Keri Middleditch asked the pathologist, “Are chronic subdural hematomas unusual in children?” The pathologist stated they were very unusual.

Brosch’s attorney, Richard Lustig, asked expert witness and neurosurgeon Ronald Buscinski, “Is there any indication that the baby was shook?”

Buscinski said he had viewed Kaitlyn’s CAT scans. “If the baby was shaken hard enough, it would have caused a neck injury,” he said, and a neck injury was not present.

On Nov. 9, a hearing was held in Oakland County Probate Court terminating parental rights for Brosch and her husband. Kaitlyn was placed with a state foster home upon leaving the hospital, officials said.

Brosch will be sentenced before Andrews at 8:30 a.m. July 18 at the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac.