Gainesville mother arrested after doctors found multiple breaks in her 4-month-old baby’s arms

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Anecia Yvonne Graham, 22, was arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated child abuse after doctors said her four-month-old infant had multiple fractures in her arms.

On July 5, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to UF Health Shands Pediatric Hospital, where he was told that the four-month-old infant had six fractures in various stages of healing and was currently in surgery for one of them. Seven injuries, five in the left arm and two in the right arm, are listed in the arrest report.

The deputy reported that in his first interview with Graham, she said she heard a loud “pop” from the baby’s arms while she was swaddling her and that the baby refused to use the arm after that; the deputy said Graham did not say anything about whether the baby appeared to be in pain. Graham reportedly told the deputy this was her first child and that she has been “a little rough” at times when she was frustrated or overwhelmed.

The deputy visited Graham’s residence, and other occupants of the home reportedly said they worry about the baby when she is alone with Graham and that the baby cries “hysterically and in a way that is unsettling” when she is alone with Graham. One witness reportedly said Graham had left the baby alone in a room once, and when she returned, she said the baby had “fallen.”

Another witness was reportedly worried about the baby because another child was previously separated from Graham due to abuse. The deputy noted that Graham had said the baby was her first child, but he confirmed with the Department of Children and Families that she has another daughter who was placed with another family and eventually adopted because Graham was accused of abusing the child; that incident was in Pasco County in 2022.

The deputy reported that medical staff said the fractures were consistent with yanking/pulling/tugging and that the number of fractures was “alarmingly high” and not consistent with Graham’s statement that the injuries happened during swaddling. A surgeon reportedly said the injuries did not appear accidental and “were done to the child,” but the surgeon could not say whether the injuries were intentional.

The Child Protective Team determined that the findings pointed to child abuse, and the child will be placed with another family member when she is discharged from the hospital.

Post Miranda, Graham reportedly said she is frequently alone with the baby and sometimes feels overwhelmed and frustrated, particularly when the baby is “uncooperative with being changed or swaddled.” The deputy asked whether someone else was responsible for the injuries, and Graham reportedly said she “fully admit[ted]” that she had handled the baby “too aggressively.” She said she does not intentionally injure the child, but when she is frustrated, she may have injured the child.

Graham has been charged with aggravated child abuse. She has lived in Alachua County for about six months and has juvenile convictions from 2019 and 2020 but no adult criminal history, although a child was removed from her care in Pasco County. Judge William Davis ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold her without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.