Suppression hearing set in shaken baby case

By Tracy M. Neal Staff Writer tracyn@nwanews.com

Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2005

BENTONVILLE — A suppression hearing was scheduled Wednesday to determine whether

Samantha Ann Mitchell’s statement can be used as evidence against her during her trial.

Mitchell, 31, is charged with capital murder, a class Y felony. If convicted, she will receive a
sentence of life in prison.

Rogers attorney Drew Miller, who represents Mitchell, will file a motion seeking to suppress the
statement.

She previously pleaded not guilty to the charge.

She is accused of violently shaking Dominick Sanders, resulting in his death. She was the child’s
baby sitter.

Police began investigating the case March 15 after being alerted by doctors in the emergency
room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rogers. The infant was brought there after he had seizures.
Doctors determined the seizures were caused by bleeding and swelling of the brain, according to
an affidavit of probable cause in the case.

According to information from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, shaken-
baby syndrome is a severe head injury that occurs when a baby is shaken forcibly enough to
cause the baby’s brain to bounce against his or her skull.

The injury may cause bruising, swelling and bleeding of the brain, which may lead to permanent,
severe brain damage or death. Symptoms may include changes in behavior, irritability, lethargy,
loss of consciousness, pale or bluish skin, vomiting and convulsions.

During an interview with Rogers police, Mitchell denied violently shaking the infant but
demonstrated, with the use of a doll, how she had held the child face down over her right arm.
She said she used her left hand and foot to try to open a swing, and she had to set the child down
two or three times.

Circuit Judge David Clinger scheduled the hearing for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 17.

The judge also scheduled a Dec. 1 hearing concerning expert witnesses’ testimony.

Mitchell was released from the Benton County Jail after posting $100,000 bond.