Former babysitter accused of shaking baby, causing brain trauma, faces prison time

VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A former babysitter is facing prison time for allegedly shaking a boy with traumatic brain injuries when he was an infant.

Calin Samora is 3 years old with a mind of a 1-year-old due to his traumatic brain injury.

His former babysitter, Monica Rezonable, was facing two felony charges for allegedly shaking Calin when he was 3 months old.

"She shook my son so violently there was big blood clots in his eye, and he can't see from that," said Calin's mother, Lori Reed.

Rezonable informed the court three years after her arrest that she may plead guilty.

Calin's parents had hoped to hear that plea today, yet the 35-year-old defendant said she needed another week to make her decision.

A guilty plea would be followed with a 90-day evaluation in state prison, which would help determine her ultimate penalty.

In pursuing the case, the Samora family said they've been to court 24 times. Next Friday, they were expected to go again.

"You just feel sick because it brings everything back up, and you just look at him and you know that he's not going to get better," said Reed, crying.

Still, the couple clings to hope as they were blessed with twin sons, who are now 4 months old. The family hopes one of them is a cord blood match for Calin to get stem cell treatments for his condition.

"The care for Calin is 24/7. It's constantly, you know, every day he's not mobile, he can't walk, he can't talk," said Gilbert Samora, the boy's father.

But the family, together, is united by the strength of Calin.

"He finds joy in life, which is probably is the only thing that keeps us going," an emotional Reed said. "It's that he is still able to find joy in his limited functionality."