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Rachel Bryan, 20, of Centralia was initially arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault of a child Sept. 20 after her son was admitted to Providence Centralia Hospital with head injuries.
Thurston County sheriff’s deputies arrested Bryan because the child was injured at a mobile home in the 20000 block of Grand Mound Way in Thurston County.
The child was transferred to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma and placed on life support. He died there just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Bryan was formally charged in Thurston County Superior Court with second-degree murder with aggravating circumstances, because she “knew or should have known that (the child) was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance,” according to charging documents.
According to court papers, Bryan has admitted to assaulting her baby.
Four days before the infant was hurt, Child Protective Services began investigating whether Bryan was a fit mother. The investigation was launched based on a nurse practitioner’s concerns about Bryan’s behavior toward her son during a visit to a health care facility in Lewis County.
Bryan’s mother has told court officials that Bryan was diagnosed with mental problems when she was 15 or 16.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5465
jpawloski@theolympian.com
