Charlotte mother charged with murder of 1 yr old son www.privateofficer.com

 

Charlotte NC July 16 2011 A toddler who was hospitalized this week in a child abuse case has died, and his 22-year-old mother is charged with murder.

On Sunday, Shannon Shmir Merriman called 911 to report that her 1-year-old son had slipped and hit his head at her apartment on High Meadow Lane, in southwest Charlotte.

The boy, Marcus Markee Davis Jr., was taken to Carolinas Medical Center, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Merriman was taken into custody early Wednesday at the hospital and initially charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious injury.

At 5:40 p.m. Thursday, Marcus died from his injuries, police said, and Merriman was then charged with murder.

Merriman’s Facebook page has photos of her beaming as she holds a smiling little boy. She calls her son Marcus “my life” on her Facebook page.

Other posts reveal a young mother struggling with the challenges of raising a child.

“Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee marcus go to bed, mama don’t feel good,” she wrote in February.

Relatives and friends wrote prayers for Marcus on Facebook. “You are in a better place im very sorry u didnt deserve this at all love u baby,” wrote one.

Court records show Merriman has been charged with several traffic offenses. In 2009, she was charged with failing to secure a passenger under 16 and driving without her license in possession. In 2010, she was charged several times with driving with a revoked license. All those charges were dismissed.

Source:www.charlotteobserver.com