Mother Accused of Killing Toddler Accepts Plea Deal 

By Sara Palmer - March 18, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Suspects |

A mother accused of killing her 1-year-old son in 2019  accepted a plea deal before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles H. Dorsey on March 18.

Shakira Shaw, 27, allegedly suffocated her son Kaleb Shaw, on Dec. 28, 2019, on the 400 block of Aisquith Street. Shaw, represented by Stephanie Salter and Janine Meckler, entered an Alford plea after her original September 2023 trial resulted in a hung jury. Under an Alford plea a defendant can plead guilty while maintaining innocence, thus accepting a plea bargain.

The prosecution and Shaw’s defense agreed on a sentence of 40 years, suspending all but 20 years, with five years of supervised probation for the charge of second-degree murder. 

Shaw will also receive mental health treatment during her sentence and will not be allowed contact with minors without supervision.  

According to police reports, Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officers responded to a 911 call made by Shaw reporting her child was unresponsive. When medical personnel arrived they attempted life-saving measures and then transported Kaleb to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

Shaw told investigators that Kaleb had fallen asleep with her in her bed. She left him momentarily to take a shower and when she had returned, she found him cold to the touch with blue lips. 

At trial, an autopsy revealed that Kaleb’s cause of death was due to natural causes from cardiac arrhythmia. On Aug. 22, 2020, Shaw contacted the Baltimore County Police Department to admit to suffocating her baby as she was overcome by grief. 

Shaw blamed her actions on her declining mental health, stating it was the voices of a baby she aborted in 2016 and a baby she miscarried in 2019 telling her to kill Kaleb. 

After accepting her plea, Shaw read a letter out loud to the court addressed to Kaleb expressing her regrets as she wept. She read that she loved Kaleb and that he’s always on her mind. She also discussed her mental health problems and said given the chance, she would switch places with him. 

Shaw’s attorneys told Judge Dorsey that Shaw had been hospitalized for psychiatric health problems two times in between the time of Kaleb’s death in December 2019 and her confession in August 2020. Salter said, “The case is tragic anyway you look at it,” and that Shaw has “been going through hell” ever since. 

Judge Dorsey ended the hearing by telling Shaw that this was a very unfortunate case, and that he hoped she was able to get treatment and finally be at peace.

Salter and Meckler both held their client in support as she wept.