Shock, Outrage After NJ Cop, Wife Charged In Baby's Death

Before she died, 3-month-old Hailey Rose Bannister may have been the victim of “an ongoing pattern of abuse.” That’s what the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said about her injuries when it announced that her parents had been arrested in connection with her death on Wednesday.

The news of this tragedy, as well as the arrests of 31-year-old Daniel Bannister and his wife, 29-year-old Catherine Bannister, elicited outrage from the general public and shock from those who know the couple.

Daniel Bannister, a police officer in Ewing Township, Mercer County, was charged with the murder of his daughter. The officer’s wife, Catherine, was also charged and arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.

The Ewing Township Police Department has not released a statement regarding Bannister's arrest. The police department and the mayor's office are directing all questions to the prosecutor's office.

At least one neighbor said the community saw disturbing signs, but they were still stunned by the news.

“I see him pull up with his truck all the time. He’s always yelling. I always hear him yelling, I always see him yelling a lot of nonsense around the neighborhood for no reason,” Jonathan Prieto told CBS3.

Still, Prieto couldn't believe it happened in his neighborhood. “It’s unbelievable. Like who knew what was happening just four doors down from me,” Prieto told CBS3.

Others who claim to have known the couple were surprised that a couple that appeared to devoted to their child could be accused of doing something so heinous.

Indeed, after the death of her child, Catherine announced her intention to start the Hailey's Hope Foundation, with the goal being to help other babies live, according to the Trentonian.

“I know these parents. While I only met the father once quite a few years back, I've known the mother for about 8 years,” one person wrote on Facebook. “She's always been a sweet caring and amazing mother. She was devoted to her children. I'm thoroughly shocked by this. I can't imagine her knowing this was happening! This is heartbreaking...I don't even know how to process this.”

“She called me when she was at the hospital hysterically crying I couldn’t even make out what she was saying,” another wrote. “I’m shocked! I’m sick to my stomach!”

“ … not defending what happened, but these two are my neighbors and some of the nicest people,” another wrote.

Others were outraged by the alleged crime and the possibility of years of abuse.

“An ongoing pattern of abuse,” one person wrote. “She was 3 months old! So her whole little life. My daughter is 3 months old right now. I can't imagine.”

“I just do not understand. So many families could have loved that little girl,” another wrote.

An autopsy conducted by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office in December concluded that Hailey's cause of death involved complications from blunt impact trauma of the head. That included skull fractures and subdural hemorrhage, according to the prosecutor’s office. Her death was ruled a homicide.

The couple appeared in court via video hookup on Thursday, at which time they pleaded not guilty. The pretrial detention hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, July 23, at which time more information is expected to be released about the circumstances surrounding Hailey’s death.

The incident happened on Dec. 5, 2018, when Ewing Township Emergency Medical Services responded to the Bannisters' Ewing home after receiving a 911 call for an unresponsive 3-month-old baby who was having difficulty breathing.

That call was placed by Catherine, who told dispatchers Hailey had just been diagnosed with reflux, but was now barely conscious, nj.com reports. She said the baby was not alert, but she did have a pulse, and that her husband was working with her.

Emergency medical technicians assessed the baby, who was not breathing and in cardiac arrest, according to the prosecutor’s office. Hailey Bannister was transported to Capital Health Medical Center — Hopewell, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Hailey was initially listed in critical condition and transferred from Capital Health to Robert Wood Johnson Children's Hospital in New Brunswick.

She died on Dec. 11, after spending several days in the hospital. Due to the suspicious nature of her injuries, the prosecutor’s office opened an investigation the same day Hailey was taken to the hospital.

Daniel Bannister had been suspended without pay from the police force since December, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Many people first heard of the baby’s death the “Hope for Hailey Rose” GoFundMe page, which raised $17,618. The page, which is no longer active, said she suffered a catastrophic brain injury and was not expected to recover, according to nj.com.

The state has advised parents in New Jersey of a law that allows them to anonymously drop the baby off at a police station or hospital.

The New Jersey Safe Haven Act states "the parents or someone acting on their behalf can bring a baby less than 30 days old to any hospital emergency room or police station. The New Jersey Department of Children and Families will take the infant into custody and place the infant with a foster or pre-adoptive home."

For more on New Jersey’s Safe Haven Law and a list of drop-off locations, visit njsafehaven.org. For more information on domestic violence and a list of agency contacts in New Jersey, visit njsp.org.