Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.
By
Andrew Michaels
- September 15, 2021
Court
|
Daily Stories
|
Homicides
|
Victims
|
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin ordered a competency evaluation on Sept. 15 for 24-year-old Shakira Shaw who is charged with the murder of her 1-year-old son in October 2020.
The Baltimore resident, who is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in death, appeared in mental health court on Wednesday.
Defense attorney Stephanie Salter requested a competency hearing for Shaw, whose mental condition she said has deteriorated over the past six weeks. Shaw has been experiencing both auditory and visual hallucinations, she noted, despite adjustments to her medication.
“She is having difficulty perceiving reality versus hallucinations,” Salter said.
Judge Rasin said she found good cause for an initial competency evaluation, which she scheduled for Sept. 22.
Shaw last appeared in reception court before Judge Melissa M. Phinn in July when the prosecution said they were waiting for the approval of a plea offer.
According to the Baltimore Sun, a medical examiner originally ruled the death of Shaw’s son, Kaleb, to be from natural causes, specifically, a heart arrhythmia. However, eight months after his death, Shaw called police and told them she suffocated her son at their home in Windsor Mill on the 400 block of Aisquith Street.
Shaw said the voices of two babies she previously lost told her to kill her son.
Shaw is scheduled to return to reception court on Sept. 20.