Lakewood woman accused of shaking 2-year-old so hard he suffered stroke

TACOMA, Wash. – A Lakewood woman is accused of shaking her friend’s 2-year-old son so hard that that he suffered a stroke and swelling of the brain.

Atalani Tili pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault of a child in Pierce County Superior Court on Tuesday. The boy was unresponsive Tuesday, and the family decided to remove life support.

The child had been staying with Tili for three weeks while his mother was settling into a new job.

According to court documents:

Tili told police the boy was aggressive, and difficult to deal with when his mother leaves. She said she was tending to a scratch on his eye on the night of Feb. 13, and he bit her hand and wouldn’t let go.

She said she shook him and threw him against a dresser, and he laid against the dresser whimpering while she ran water over her hand. When she came back in the room several minutes later, he was struggling to get back to his feet and she realized he’d struck the back of his head on a hinge.

Tili said the boy wasn’t acting normally, but she put him to bed hoping he’d be better in the morning.

The next morning, the boy collapsed on the bed when she tried to dress him. His eyes rolled back in his head, so Tili called the boy’s mother and, eventually, 911.

Police found that the boy had an inch-long cut on the back of his head, as well as scratches and bruises on his body.

Police said Tili admitted to another shaking incident about a week prior. She said the boy became angry after his mother left, so she shook him and threw him to the floor. She said he hit his head that time as well, but wasn’t sure if it was on the floor or the dishwasher.