Louisiana Grandmother Maintains Daughter’s Innocence in Baby’s Slaying

(Franklinton, Louisiana) - A Louisiana woman was arrested in the death of her 8-month-old baby on Wednesday, March 19, and the child's grandmother says her daughter is innocent in connection to the baby's death, according to a report by WWL.

What Is Currently Known About The Case?

Officials with the Franklinton Police Department began an investigation on Wednesday, March 12, into the circumstances surrounding the serious injuries to a baby that was brought to the Riverside Medical Center.

According to Franklinton Police Chief Justin Brown, in comments he made to Louisiana Radio Network, there was evidence that the child was healing from broken bones and was admitted to the hospital for those injuries and new ones. Brown says the baby's mother, 24-year-old Autumn Hano Harper, was arrested on a charge of First Degree Murder.

Has The Child Been Identified?

The grandmother of the baby and the mother to Harper, Nataha Hano, says her grandbaby's name was Sterling Rogers. The woman says this is a terrible time, and she's lost.

What Else Has Emerged About This Case?

According to Police Chief Brown, the child

....was in the custody of a boyfriend at the time and experienced some sort of event which caused him to stop breathing. The boyfriend performed CPR on the child and rushed the child to the emergency room.

Hano says she does not believe that her daughter did this to the baby. Brown says he had extensive interview time with Harper, and she admitted hurting the child. Brown says,

She disclosed in that interview a history of physical abuse, most significantly taking place since January of this year, and we believe those injuries and the part she played in that ultimately led to her infant’s death.

Because of the severity of the little boy's injuries, he was flown to Children's Hospital in New Orleans, but he eventually died from all of the injuries to his body.

Brown says they are not ruling out that there could be additional arrests in connection with this case.

Officials say the case continues to be investigated.