Crime & Safety

Berlin Native Charged With Injuring Infant Daughter

Savannah Lago Shepard graduated from Berlin High in 2005.

A 2005 Berlin High graduate faces charges in Bristol after an incident last September that left her 8-week-old daughter hospitalized.

On Sept. 3, 2010, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Bristol police officers responded to 56 Atkins Avenue, Bristol in response to a 911 call from Savannah Lago Shepard reporting her eight-week-old daughter wasn't breathing.  At that time, patrol officers and Bristol EMS responded and provided medical care to the infant. 

The child was transported to Bristol Hospital and then transported by Life Star helicopter to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford.  It was later determined that the child suffered severe head trauma.

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On March 9, after an extensive investigation conducted by the Bristol Police Criminal Investigations Division, Shepard, 23, of 155 Redstone Hill Road, Bristol, was arrested and charged with Assault in the First Degree and Risk of Injury to a Minor. 

She was processed at the Bristol Police Department and held on a court-set bond in the amount of $500,000.  

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She appeared in court on Thursday and her bail was stayed at $500,000. she is next scheduled to appear March 17 in New Britain Superior Court. 

Shepard is an EMT with Plymouth Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Her lawyer argued in her brief court appearance that Shepard was trying to perform CPR on her infant, who was in distress. 

Television reports said the baby might never walk or talk and could be blind as a result of the traumatic injuries she suffered.


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