Herbert Miller Arrested In Christmas Morning Death Of 7-Month-Old Harlem Phillips
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Detectives have arrested 24-year-old Herbert Leon Miller in the death of a seven-month-old child earlier this month.
Police said Harlem Phillips was brought to Johns Hopkins Pediatric Hospital around 10 p.m. Sunday after reportedly falling off a couch at a home in northeast Baltimore. Phillips was unresponsive and unconscious.
She died at the hospital on Christmas morning. According to court documents, a doctor said she reportedly suffered injuries consistent with being shaken.
Medical examiners later ruled Phillips' death as being due to blunt force trauma, leading police to investigate the case as a homicide.
Police: 7-Month-Old That Died Christmas Morning Showed Signs Of Being Shaken
Court documents show Miller was babysitting Phillips, his girlfriend's daughter, when Phillips fell off the couch and had a seizure. He then reportedly called for a medic.
In an interview with police, Miller admitted to shaking the baby after getting frustrated with her so hard "he looked at her and her eyes rolled into her head," court documents show.
On Monday, WJZ knocked on the door of the home where the incident happened; no one answered.
Neighbors who did not want to be identified said they were in shock.
"That's really sad, especially on Christmas Day," one neighbor said. "You'd think you'd be spoiling your child, not having to bury a child. That's sad."
Miller was transported to Central Booking Intake Facility where he has been charged with first- and second-degree child abuse and first- and second-degree assault.