Mom Arrested After 6-Month-Old's Death

St. Petersburg Police have charged a 22-year-old woman with aggravated child abuse in connection with the death of her infant son.

Police were called out to the woman’s 6th Avenue South home on Friday around 6 p.m. to investigate Dimitri Smith’s death. Paramedics were initially called to the scene when the child’s mother found him unresponsive in his crib. The child was pronounced dead, an email to media from the police department stated.

“During an autopsy conducted by the Medical Examiner’s Office, injuries were detected to the baby which were consistent with child abuse, including broken bones to the arm, clavicle and ribs,” the email said.

When detectives questioned the mother, she told them she would become frequently frustrated with the baby’s crying. She also admitted that she would “grab, squeeze and shake the baby,” the email said. The mother knew of at least one injury to the boy’s arm that she never had treated.

Karina Welker was charged with one count of aggravated child abuse. Additional charges are pending in the case pending the final determination of death by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Welker was arrested Tuesday and was being held without bond in the Pinellas County Jail as of Wednesday morning.

Photo Credit: Karina Welker/Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department