Man Pleads Guilty to Shaking Infant to Death, Boy Took 8 Years to Die From Injuries

Brian Saucier, of Stoneham, pleaded guilty Friday to involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from the shaking death of his infant son, according to an announcement from the Middlesex District Attorney's office.

According to the announcement, Saucier shook his son in 2002, and the boy died eight years later from the injuries.

Saucier was arraigned on Aug. 5, initially entering a plea of not guilty.

Here's more on the case:

Below is the announcement from the Middlesex County District Attorney's office: 

Stoneham Man Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter Charge In Death Of Son

WOBURN- A Stoneham man has pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter for shaking his son as an infant, which caused substantial brain injuries and resulted in his death eight years later, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.

Brian Saucier, 42, of Stoneham, pled guilty today in Middlesex Superior Court.  Middlesex Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman sentenced the defendant to 15 years in State Prison.   

“This defendant violently assaulted his vulnerable infant son, just 6 weeks old at the time, resulting in substantial brain injuries that left him severely disabled and which ultimately caused the victim’s death eight years later,” District Attorney Leone said. “By pleading guilty today, the defendant is held accountable for his actions that caused the victim’s severe injuries and his subsequent death.”

According to authorities, on September 19, 2002, Stoneham Police responded to an apartment on Franklin Street for reports of a baby who had stopped breathing. Upon arrival, police located the defendant holding his six-week-old son who was limp and unresponsive. The victim was transported to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital and later to New England MedicalCenter. He was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. 

After several months of treatment and rehabilitation in area hospitals, the victim was discharged home. He lived with his mother and her family for the next eight years. The victim required constant monitoring and received assistance from home duty nurses. The critical and ultimately fatal brain injuries that the victim sustained left him in a vegetative state, unable to sit, stand, walk, hold his head up, purposefully move his extremities, swallow, or talk.  

The victim succumbed to his injuries on May 1, 2011. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy on the victim and ruled the cause of death to be complications of shaking injuries to the head and neck, and the manner of death to be homicide.

The defendant was indicted for murder on August 4, 2011 and arraigned on August 5 in Middlesex Superior Court where Middlesex Superior Court Assistant Clerk Magistrate Matthew Day ordered the defendant held on without bail.

This case was investigated by Stoneham Police and State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. 

The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Katharine Folger. The victim witness advocate is Susie Marshall.