Judge Sets $2,500 Bail For Whitman Mother Charged In Daughter's Death
WHITMAN (CBS) – A judge set bail at $2,500 for a Whitman mother who was arrested in connection to her daughter's death. Shaniqua Leonard, 29, was charged with reckless endangerment of a child after 2-year-old Lyric Farrell, was found unresponsive Dec. 28 and died New Year's Eve.
According to the police report, doctors believe Lyric Farrell died from a "non-accidental traumatic head injury."
Leonard was initially ordered held without bail on Friday. On Monday, the judge ruled she can be released on $2,500 cash bail. Leonard cannot have contact with any children, including her own, though a private viewing at Farrell's funeral will be arranged.
If Leonard makes bail, she has an outstanding warrant out of Roxbury.
"We are very grateful that she will be able to attend her child's funeral," her attorney Mike Tumposky said. "The judge ruled that she was not a danger to the community that she was entitled to bail and we are very happy for that."
The 911 call Leonard made the day Farrell was found unresponsive was played in court on Monday.
Leonard told police, on the night of Dec. 28, she put her children to bed and it was not until hours later, when she was waking them up to use the bathroom, that she discovered Lyric was unresponsive.