Haley Marie Barclay (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
A 26-year-old child caretaker in Florida already facing murder and child abuse charges for allegedly killing an infant in her care has been charged with severely injuring a second child, this one a toddler, authorities say
Haley Marie Barclay, who was already in custody and charged with first-degree murder and multiple child abuse charges, has been hit with an additional charge of aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
“It is completely sickening to learn this woman, who treated one infant so gruesomely that it resulted in death, was also responsible for the severe physical injuries of another baby,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “I applaud our detectives for continuing this investigation as we seek justice for all victims.”
According to an affidavit of probable cause, deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at about 6:35 a.m. on April 17 responded to John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg in reference to a child abuse investigation.
Upon arriving at the scene, authorities say that the victim underwent a CT scan which showed a skull fracture, subdural hematoma (bleeding in the space between the skull and the brain), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in the space surrounding the brain). The injuries required emergency surgery in which doctors had to “insert a drain” into the child’s skull, the affidavit states. Doctors told the responding detectives that the victim’s condition was “rapidly declining” and the child had to be sedated after being admitted to the intensive care unit.
Barclay’s relationship to the victim was redacted from the document.
Investigators interviewed Barclay at her home that evening just before midnight and say she confessed to physically abusing the victim multiple times the previous few days.
“The defendant admitted to shaking the victim against [their] will on April 12, 2023, sometime in the afternoon. The defendant stated she was frustrated with the victim as [they] would not stop crying and fussing throughout the day,” the affidavit states. “The defendant stated she shook the victim for approximately one minute to get [the victim] to stop crying and fussing and laid [the victim] back down on the bed. The defendant then stated on April 13, 2023, sometime in the afternoon, she shook the victim against [their] will again back and forth (while holding [the victim] out in front of her) for approximately 30 seconds out of frustration as the victim continued to cry and fuss.”
Over the next few days, Barclay allegedly said that she noticed the child acting “gloomy” and throwing up and she tried to treat the condition with Tylenol and Pedialyte rather than seeking medical attention, per the document.
It was on April 16, when she saw the child “go limp” in her arms, that Barclay went to South Bay Hospital for medical treatment before being air-lifted to John Hopkins for more specialized treatment.
Barclay also completed a video reenactment of the abuse inflicted on the child, showing investigators how she “picked up the victim and shook [the victim] in front of her” and detectives observed, “the doll’s head going back and forth with no support,” the probable cause affidavit states. Barclay was arrested on April 17 and charged with three counts of aggravated child abuse.
Despite doctors’ best efforts, the child succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced dead on April 21 and the charges against Barclay were upgraded to murder.
Investigators say that while investigating the infant’s death, they discovered evidence of a second victim who “sustained injuries” while in Barclay’s care.
“After removing a second baby from the care of Barclay due to that initial investigation, deputies found the second child sustained severe upper body trauma,” HCSO said in the release. Barclay’s relationship to the second child has not been revealed
Barclay was already being held at the Falkenburg Road Jail when authorities tacked on the additional charge of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm.
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