Muncie mom sentenced after battering infant, causing 20 bone fractures

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — A Delaware County mother was sentenced to 35 years in prison after she was found guilty of causing “catastrophic injury” to her infant daughter.

A jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Montana Davis, 26, guilty of neglect resulting in serious bodily injury and battery.

Davis was first arrested in January 2023.

Police say Davis’ boyfriend, Austin Choate, took their 5-month-old daughter to a hospital for a possible broken arm.

The girl was eventually sent to Riley Hospital for Children for a radiology read, which determined she had “two broken legs, a broken arm, 15 rib fractures, and 2 skull fractures with bilateral brain bleeds.”

While a doctor said the fractures could have been caused by a rare bone disease, the brain bleeds could not be justified. Choate was detained at the hospital, and “made an unsolicited response that she broke the arm and he wasn’t going to jail for something he didn’t do.”

Davis later spoke with detectives, saying she found the child earlier in the morning lying on the floor with her arm underneath her. When she picked her up and pulled at her arm, she “heard a pop and may have accidentally broke her arm.”

Davis could not explain why her daughter had 20 fractures.

Officers noted Davis was “very loud, shifted blame, (acted) irrational, talked to herself.” Davis also stated she was a “24/7 stay-at-home mom with no one else caring for (her daughter).”

Prosecutors say they believe the infant suffered from shaken baby syndrome, adding, “approximately 25% of children who have been shaken die from their injuries” and “around 60% are left with neurological defects ranging from mild learning disorders to persistent vegetative states.”

Help is available for victims of domestic violence. Below is a list of suggested resources on the Domestic Violence Network website:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
• National Domestic Violence Hotline en español: 800-799-7233 o texto “START” al 88788
• Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 24-hour hotline available at 800-332-7385
• Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
• La Plaza Indy
• The Julian Center
• Indiana Child Abuse Hotline: 800-800-5556
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673

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