Foster mom charged in baby's homicide

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -  A Virginia Beach foster mother is charged with second degree murder, for the death of a 9-month-old child in her care.

Police say the child, Braxton Taylor, died on February 7, 2010 at the Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk. Emergency Services personnel were called to a home in the 5300 block of Glenville Circle the day before and discovered the baby unresponsive in his crib.

An autopsy was performed and the Medical Examiner's Office ruled the child died from shaken baby syndrome.

Police arrested the child's foster mother, 28-year-old Kathleen Ganiere.

Neighbors said they don't know the suspect

"They were foster parents entrusted with the temporary care of a child. You're taking a child to people the child doesn't even know and they're supposed to trust them and something like this happens, allegedly happens," said David Johnson, a neighbor.

Last weekend, Shawna Strahan said, "We saw 4 or 5 police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance down there."

That's when she suspected the worst. "It's sad, it's scary. You don't really know the people in your neighborhood I guess. I didn't know her," Strahan said. "I don't know how you could do that to a little child."

Ganiere declined a request for an interview from the jail. A bond hearing is set for next week.