BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. – A 22-year-old babysitter has been charged with homicide by child abuse in the death of an infant who died of blunt head trauma.
The infant was in the sole care of Alisha Picone, a babysitter, when head injuries were sustained, according to investigators. Picone turned herself in on Friday after a warrant had been issued for her arrest on Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency crews were called to a home on Bent Oak Road in Beaufort regarding an infant in medical distress in January. The infant was transported by EMS to Beaufort Memorial Hospital and later to the Medical University of South Carolina, where the infant died.
A forensic autopsy was performed at MUSC on Jan. 7, where pathologists noted injuries to the infant’s head. After extensive medical studies and evaluation of the infant’s injuries, forensic pathologists concluded that the infant’s cause of death was blunt head trauma and the manner of death was a homicide.
Sheriff’s office investigators examined the Bent Tree Oak home for evidence of what may have caused the infant’s injuries and interviewed witnesses. Investigators established that the infant was in the sole care of 22-year-old Alisha Picone, a babysitter when the head injuries were sustained.
After receiving the reports of the pathologists’ and other experts’ findings last week, investigators met with the solicitor’s office, where it was decided a warrant should be sought for the arrest of Alisha Picone in the infant’s death.
Wednesday, investigators met with a Beaufort County magistrate and a warrant for Picone’s arrest for Homicide by Child Abuse was issued.
Friday morning, Alisha Picone turned herself in. Picone was arrested and transported to the Beaufort County Detention Center.
Picone is currently incarcerated and, as of the time of this advisory, her bond had not been set.
