Baby girl dead with skull fractures but no prison for NJ parents

🔴 Parents get pre-trial intervention program agreement

🔴 Baby girl dies from skull fractures and brain bleed

🔴 Judge suppressed evidence from text messages

A former police officer and teacher charged in the death of their infant daughter have reached an agreement with Mercer County prosecutors that avoids any time in prison.

Daniel and Catherine Bannister entered into a pre-trial intervention program on March 20, according to Mercer County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Casey DeBlasio. The agreement was first reported by NJ.com.

If they complete all 12 months of the program, child endangerment charges against the two parents will be dropped. Daniel Bannister resigned from his job as a police officer and Catherine Bannister forfeited her teaching certificate.

The deal is a far cry from what prosecutors originally sought for the mom and dad who had been accused of abusing their newborn for two months and refusing to get her medical help until it was too late.

Baby girl dies from physical trauma

Hailey Rose Bannister died in December 2018. She was three months old.

Prosecutors said an autopsy found the infant girl had died from blunt impact trauma to the head. She suffered skull fractures, brain bleeding, broken ribs, and a heart attack.

Prosecutors said that Daniel Bannister, a police officer in Ewing at the time, hurt his daughter. Catherine Bannister was accused of knowing about the abuse, covering it up, and not getting her daughter help until it was too late.

Judge suppressed evidence from text messages

The case never went to trial.

DeBlasio said a judge prevented Mercer County prosecutors from using evidence found on the parents' cell phones.

Text messages showed that Catherine had repeatedly told her husband he was being too rough with the child, authorities said.

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Detectives seized the phones before obtaining a warrant because evidence could have been deleted, according to court documents.

An appellate court found that investigators had probable cause to search the phones. After the decision, the judge again suppressed the texts.

Jeffrey Garrigan, a defense attorney for Daniel, said to NJ.com that he also submitted testimony from expert witnesses he believed led to the case being resolved.

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