Burnsville Mother Accused Of Assaulting 16-Month-Old Daughter
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 37-year-old Burnsville woman is accused of hitting her 16-month-old daughter on the head and swearing at her last week, according to charges filed in Dakota County Court.
Marwo Mohamud Abdullahi is charged with third-degree assault and malicious punishment of a child in connection with the incident.
According to the charges, police responded to an apartment on the 1000 block of Burnsville Parkway on a 911 hang-up. As officers were on the way, dispatch told them they could hear yelling in the background and somebody saying they didn't want "a baby dying in the house."
Officers at the scene were met by Abdullahi and three other women. She told the officers everything was fine and they didn't need police assistance. An officer noticed a juvenile female in the hallway who looked frightened and asked her if she was OK. She shook her head "no," and officers noticed Abdullahi's speech was slurred and her eyes were glossy.
The complaint states Abdullahi let officers into search the apartment. Officers found seven people, including the 16-month-old child. She was identified as Abdullahi's daughter and was sitting on the lap of another adult with a dazed look on her face. People in the room told officers that Abdullahi had hit the child on her head. The child was taken to a hospital, and doctors found bruising on the child's chest and back consistent with trauma.
According to the complaint, a witness told police Abdullahi had been "banging, banging, banging" on the child's head. Another witness said she heard the same noise in the living room and saw that a glass baby bottle had been broken. Abdullahi went to another family member who had being holding the baby, grabbed her by the arm and said "give me this little bitch."
The complaint states Abdullahi threw the child onto the couch and slapped her on the leg hard enough to make her cry. She then picked the child up, put her in a walker and hit her on the back of her head with her hand. The witness said Abdullahi hit the child on her head hard about three times. She then pulled the girl out of the walker and put her on a pile of clothes. The baby fell to the ground and hit her head, and Abdullahi put her back on the clothes before falling to the floor again and being taken to the bedroom.
If convicted, Abdullahi faces up to 10 years in jail and $20,000 in fines.