Queens Tribune

An Elmhurst woman was charged with murder after her 11-week-old infant son was removed from life support at Elmhurst Hospital last Thursday.

Kiana Paez, 23, brought her severely beaten son, Pablo Paez, to the hospital on April, 3, where he was diagnosed with severe brain injuries and skeletal fractures – including broken ribs and a broken leg. Some of the injuries appeared weeks old, the doctors said. The child was unresponsive and placed on life support for three weeks before the hospital declared the child brain dead.

“The decision to remove the infant from life-support came about only after thorough and repeated examinations by hospital physicians tasked with determining brain death concluded that the infant had suffered complete loss of function in the entire brain,” District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. “Accordingly, the charges against Ms. Paez will now be upgraded to include second-degree murder.”

A medical examination of the infant revealed a fractured skull and head trauma, acute left subdural hematoma, acute intra-retinal hemorrhaging in the right eye, fractured ribs, contusions and lacerations to the lip, an old fractured left femur and an old right subdural hematoma, according to a DA report.

Paez allegedly pressed down on the infant’s legs while changing his diaper to keep him from moving, then proceeded to throw the infant onto her bed on Feb. 22, according to statements made at the time of her arrest. When the infant began crying on April 3, she allegedly hit him in the head and left him in a car seat. She later tried to pick up the car seat from her bed, when the seat fell face down with the infant inside. The infant cried and then went silent,
according to the statement.

Paez will return to court on May 5. If convicted, Paez faces 25 years to life in prison.