Father sentenced to 25 months in prison for violently shaking baby, causing brain damage

TACOMA – Raymon Tyhia, 35, of Tacoma, pleaded guilty Wednesday to assault of a child for shaking his 7-week-old daughter so violently that he caused brain damage. He was sentenced to 25 months in prison.

He had been charged Oct. 16 with first-degree assault of child, but pleaded down to third-degree assault of a child.

On Oct. 3, Tyhia and the baby’s mother argued about dressing the victim, the prosecutor's office said in a news release at the time. Angry that the baby was crying, the defendant forcefully grabbed the victim by the leg and dragged her towards him, across the couple’s king-sized bed, and forced her into her crib, he said.

The baby continued to cry, so the defendant yanked her out of the crib by her armpit, causing her head to violently bounce back and forth several times. The defendant said the victim stopped crying and appeared to be “out of it” for a few seconds, but then started crying again, the news release said.

"Statements from the mother and the grandmother, along with the injuries, indicate there had been other incidents of violent shaking," the prosecutor's office news release said..

The victim’s mother and the defendant took the child to Mary Bridge Hospital on Oct. 9 because she had not eaten since the day before, and was rolling her eyes and screaming. The victim was diagnosed with brain damage, brain hemorrhage and subdural hematoma.