Toms River Babysitter's Conviction Upheld In Shaken Baby Death

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River woman convicted of aggravated manslaughter in the shaken baby death of a Toms River boy will remain in prison after her conviction and 15-year jail sentence were upheld by a New Jersey appellate court earlier this week.

Michelle Heale, 48, was convicted by a Monmouth County jury in April 2015 in the death of 14-month-old Mason Hess. Hess's father and Heale's husband both worked as investigators in the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. The case was tried in Monmouth County Superior Court and it was Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni who announced the appellate court's decision.

Heale had been charged with murder in the case. Prosecutors said Heale shook Hess so hard that his neck snapped while she was caring for him at her home Aug. 28, 2012. Heale, who testified at the trial, said she did not shake the boy but hit him hard between the shoulder blades to dislodge applesauce because he was choking.

At the time, Heale called police to report the child was having difficulty breathing and Toms River police and emergency responders arrived to find the child "unconscious and not breathing," Gramiccioni said.

Hess was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where doctors determined he had sustained physical abuse and was in "grave" condition. On Aug. 31, CHOP doctors determined the child "was the victim of violent shaking that caused severe brain, spine and retinal damage," Gramiccioni said.

Mason Hess died from those injuries Sept. 1, and an autopsy performed by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death to be a homicide caused by blunt cerebral trauma, Gramiccioni said at the time.

The jury convicted Heale on the charges of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment, and she was sentenced in June 2015 to 15 years in prison. She must serve a minimum of 12 years and 9 months — 85 percent — of that sentence under the No Early Release Act before she is eligible for parole.

On appeal, Heale's attorney argued her conviction should be overturned on grounds that she was not given a fair trial. Expert rebuttal witnesses should have been sequestered, the attorney argued. In addition, the attorney said, the prosecutor's office engaged in "multi-faceted, egregious prosecutorial misconduct" and the judge improperly allowed Hess's parents to sit near the jury. The appeal also argued the sentence was excessive.

The appellate court rejected those arguments, saying the evidence presented at trial supported the conviction and none of the arguments by Heale's attorney established a reversible error. The court upheld her sentence as well, saying it was legal and "we discern no abuse of discretion."

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