The mother of a deceased 5-year-old has been charged with murder because her ex-boyfriend allegedly shook the boy as an infant.
Las Vegas woman Monique Bork, 26, brought her 6-week-old son, Brayden, to the hospital with serious head trauma in August 2006, according to 8 News Now. His brain was swollen and bleeding, and his symptoms were consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Brayden was on life support for 6 days. His injuries left him legally blind and suffering from cerebral palsy.
Police questioned both Bork and her boyfriend at the time, Edward Thompson.
Bork told police that a falling toy had hit Brayden in the head a few weeks earlier, the Las Vegas Sun reports. Thompson, who is now 34, said that Bork was lying, and that really he had dropped a telephone on Brayden's face.
No arrests were made. After the incident, Brayden's maternal grandmother took custody of the boy for more than two years, before he was adopted by Tish Buckmaster and Gayle Grusman, Fox 5 News reports.
The boy spent most of that time in hospice care. He was fed through a gastronomy tube, according to the Daily Mail.
When Brayden passed away in July 2011, at age 5, his deaths as ruled as a homicide, the result of the head trauma he sustained as a baby.
"He had no brain left from the injury," Grusman told 8 News Now.
PHOTOS: (Story Continues Below)
The Death Of Brayden Grusman-Buckmaster
Police had no evidence who was responsible, as there were four adults -- Bork, Thompson, and Thompson's mother and brother -- living in the home at the time of the incident.
"The DA won't re-open the case because there's no new evidence as to which adult it was in the household," Grusman said.
However, after seeing an April news report stating that no one had been charged, Cortney Campbell, who had been Bork's friend, came forward to speak with investigators. She said Bork admitted that her boyfriend shook the baby, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports. Thompson also allegedly beat Bork on several occasions.
Cambell said she did not come forward earlier because she thought that Thompson had already been charged. The man has an extensive criminal background, with previous charges including robbery, burglary, conspiracy to commit larceny, and possessing a firearm as an ex-felon.
Both Bork and Thompson were arrested earlier this week and charged with child abuse and murder. Thompson has also been charged with neglect.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to a gastronomy tube as a "gastronomical tube." In addition, the headline incorrectly referred to Monique Bork as Michelle Bork.