Infant in vegetative state after being shaken by babysitter

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- (WBBH) -- A 5-month-old boy is not expected to survive after suffering severe abuse by his babysitter, according to an arrest report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

The boy's mother dropped him off with a friend, 24-year-old Maria Antonio Jose, in Bonita Springs who agreed to watch him while his mother went to work. Around noon, Jose called the boy's mother and told her the baby had stopped breathing after he choked on milk.

However, doctors said the baby suffered a diffused axonal injury - a form of traumatic brain injury that happens with the brain rapidly shifts inside the skull. The baby also had extensive retinal hemorrhaging as well as a ripped right eye retina.

When questioned by detectives, Jose stuck to her original story of the baby choking on milk. But when they confronted her about the extensive damage suffered to his brain, Jose admitted that she shook him for about two minutes when he wouldn't stop crying.

Detectives said Jose demonstrated what happened to a baby doll. According to the arrest report, Jose held the toy in front of her and shook it from side-to-side while the doll's head bounced back and forth.

Jose told detectives she was afraid to tell the truth because she did not want her friend to find out she had hurt her baby.

Jose was charged with cruelty toward a child and aggravated child abuse.

The baby is not expected to survive and was transferred to hospice care.