Utah nanny accused of kicking twin babies booked into jail
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Carter Williams, KSL.com
WEST JORDAN, Utah — A West Valley City woman charged with child abuse Wednesday turned herself into authorities Thursday morning, police said.
McKenna Newell, 20, was booked into Salt Lake County Jail Thursday on two counts of child abuse, each second-degree felony charges, according to jail records obtained by KSL.com.
A warrant was issued for her arrest Wednesday after she was charged in 3rd District Court. West Jordan Police Sgt. J.C. Holt said Newell made contact with a West Jordan police detective Thursday morning and was being cooperative with police.
Prosecutors allege nanny cam footage recorded the incident where Newell allegedly abused twin babies one morning after the parents went to work.
According to the charges filed in 3rd District Court, the father of the 5-month-old identical twins reviewed nanny cam footage from Jan. 5. In it, they allege Newell took a blanket off one of the infants, picked her up and shook her, according to court documents. She then placed her in a bassinet. Police say that the baby kept crying, and Newell “aggressively shook the rocker/bassinet.”
Newell picked up and held the crying baby until she calmed down before she put the baby back on the ground with her sister, police said. But when the girl again began to cry, Newell allegedly kicked her in the leg and rib area several times.
Footage also showed Newell allegedly putting the infant on the couch “aggressively causing her head to bounce forward,” and kicking the other baby “several times as she laid on the floor.”
A spokeswoman for Care.com, a website to help people find and give child care, confirmed that Newell had a profile with the website.
“This incident is deeply disturbing to us, and our thoughts are with the family,” the company said in a statement. “The individual in question did have a profile on Care.com which has now been closed, but we do not employ the caregivers on our site and she is not, nor has she ever been, an employee of Care.com.
“The safety of our community is of paramount importance to us, and we have proactively reached out to local law enforcement to provide whatever assistance we can.”