Baby Sitter Charged in Death of 9-Month-Old : Authorities Say Boy Suffered Fatal Head Injury While in Brea Woman’s Care Last September

A 27-year-old Brea baby sitter has been charged with murder in connection with the death last September of a 9-month-old boy in her care, authorities said Wednesday.

Cynthia Ann Brown appeared in North Orange County Municipal Court Wednesday, but her arraignment was postponed until Friday.

Since August, 1983, Brown was licensed by the county to provide child care for a maximum of six children in her home, a county social services spokeswoman said. Brown’s license was revoked three months ago as a result of the seven-month murder investigation, the spokeswoman said.

Maintains Innocence

Brown’s attorney, Keith Monroe, said Brown “adamantly” maintains her innocence but did not protest the suspension of her child care license because she didn’t want to place a fence or barricade around her swimming pool, a requirement under state child care guidelines.

Brown was being held late Wednesday on $100,000 bail at the Orange County Jail.

Brea police said officers arrested Brown about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Wandering Lane home on a warrant charging her with murder in the death of Douglas Charles Rudnicki.

The baby died Sept. 8 at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, four days after he suffered a head injury, according to Brea police. The Los Angeles County coroner ruled the death a homicide, Brea police said.

“Cynthia Ann Brown was the baby sitter for Douglas at the time of his injuries,” according to a statement released by police.

Baby ‘Was in Fine Shape’

The boy’s father, Joseph Rudnicki, principal of Fullerton’s Nicolas Junior High School, said Wednesday that he and his wife left their son at Brown’s home about 7:15 a.m. the morning of Sept. 4.

“He was in fine shape, he was healthy, he had played in the morning,” Rudnicki said. “Also, according to some (police) records I’ve read, he ate during the day, he drank during the day. Barbara got called (by Brown) somewhere around 2:30 or 3 o’clock.”

Authorities said the sitter told the mother that the child was pale, crying and running a fever.

Rudnicki said his wife called several physicians and “decided very quickly to go pick Douglas up.” She took him to Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim, where Rudnicki said the head injury was detected. The baby was then flown to Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

May Have Been Injured Earlier

“A key point in this case, I think, is that . . . the parents concede that the previous evening the child had fallen off a couch at the parents’ home,” Monroe said Wednesday. “It’s in a police interview . . . . At the parents’ home on the preceding day, they had three nephews--a 3-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 12-year-old. All of them had been playing with the child at various times and we just can’t negate that any one of them playing with the child might have injured him.”

Rudnicki would not comment on Monroe’s statement, saying that only a qualified medical authority could determine the cause of death.

Rudnicki, who also has a 3 1/2-year-old son, Kenneth, spoke before a state Assembly committee on Tuesday about a proposed bill that would, among other things, call for speedier closing of child care facilities where injuries or deaths occur. The Assembly Human Services Committee took no action on the bill, which was sponsored by Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra).