By Sarah Schulz
sarah.schulz@theindependent.com

Ingrid Aguirre, 21, is charged with felony child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury for incidents that occurred between May 16, 2007, when the child was born, and June 20, 2007. The baby and her older brother are now in foster care.

On Tuesday, two doctors from Children's Hospital in Omaha testified that the infant suffered 19 rib fractures on three separate occasions and fractures to both legs. Dr. Jeff DeMare said the rib fractures were near the spine and could only have been caused by an adult squeezing hard with their fingers.

Both doctors testified they believed the injuries were the result of abuse.

The first witnesses called to testify for the defense had been working at the U-Save Pharmacy on South Locust when Aguirre's daughter stopped breathing while at the store.

Scott Weyers and Cindy Miller testified a man, later identified as Aguirre's brother-in-law, rushed into the store with Aguirre's infant. The baby wasn't breathing.

Weyers said he called 911 while others tried to revive the baby.

Miller said the man was yelling frantically in Spanish and a woman asked for help because the baby wasn't breathing. Miller said she took the infant, rolled her over and began patting her on the back. She also held the baby in one hand while performing chest compressions with her other hand. The infant was ashen colored and her eyes rolled around in her head as Miller tried to revive her. Eventually she said she laid the baby on the floor to do CPR and the baby started breathing.

Both Weyers and Miller said the baby's mother was in the store before the man and the baby came inside. They also both said they never saw anyone squeeze or shake the baby.

The defense's third witness, Marge Crieason, a Department of Health and Human Services protection and safety worker, testified she does visits with Aguirre's two children and their relatives. On Aug. 29, 2007, Crieason spoke to Aguirre's brother-in-law, sister and mother during a visit about the rib and leg fractures the baby suffered. All three adults put their heads down and didn't maintain eye contact, she said.

While Aguirre and the baby were in Omaha, Grand Island police officer Mike Nelson interviewed Aguirre at the Omaha Police Department. Although Aguirre said in the taped interview that she understood English, she said there were some things for which she'd need an interpreter. An Omaha police detective assisted with the translation.

During the first day of the trial, Nelson testified that Aguirre admitted she had shaken her baby.

Belkin Gonzalez, a certified court interpreter, viewed the taped interview upon the request of Aguirre's attorney, Deputy Hall County Public Defender Vicky Kenney, and gave her opinions of the interpretations done by the detective.

She said Aguirre used a word that is usually a slang term for "to move" and the detective translated it as "to shake." However, she said the word can mean different things depending on the context of the conversation. Gonzalez said, in her opinion, that Aguirre was using the word to describe how she "held" the baby.

She also testified both Aguirre and the officers said shake in English and they spoke in English about the baby's legs moving back and forth when she was shaken.

Aguirre also said, in Spanish, that she was the baby's primary caregiver, Gonzalez said.

The trial will continue at 9 a.m. Friday in Hall County District Court.