Ga. woman says she's certain suspect shot her baby

Two teddy bears, a commemorative cross and a vase of flowers sit on a street corner in Brunswick, Ga. on Saturday, March 23, 2013, near where a 13-month-old baby was fatally shot in his stroller two days earlier. Sherry West says her son, Antonio Santiago, was shot in the face by a gunman after she refused to give him money. (AP Photo/The Morning News, Russ Bynum)

Two teddy bears, a commemorative cross and a vase of flowers sit on a street corner in Brunswick, Ga. on Saturday, March 23, 2013, near where a 13-month-old baby was fatally shot in his stroller two days earlier. Sherry West says her son, Antonio Santiago, was shot in the face by a gunman after she refused to give him money. (AP Photo/The Morning News, Russ Bynum)

This Friday, March 22, 2013 photo provided by the Glynn County Detention Center shows De'Marquise Elkins, 17, one of two teenagers arrested Friday and accused of fatally shooting a 13-month-old baby in the face and wounding his mother during their morning stroll in Brunswick, Ga. Elkins is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, along with a 14-year-old who was not identified because he is a juvenile, Police Chief Tobe Green said. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Glynn County Detention Center)

This photo provided Friday, March 22, 2013 by Sherry West, of Brunswick, Ga., shows her son Antonio Santiago celebrating his first Christmas in December of 2012. West says a teenager trying to rob her at gunpoint Thursday asked "Do you want me to kill your baby?" before he fatally shot 13-month-old Antonio in the head. West was walking with Antonio in his stroller near their home in coastal Brunswick. The mother was shot in the leg and says another bullet grazed her ear. Police are combing school records and canvassing neighborhoods as they search for the gunman and a young accomplice a day after the slaying Thursday. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Sherry West)

This Friday, March 22, 2013 photo provided by the Glynn County Detention Center shows De'Marquise Elkins, 17, one of two teenagers arrested Friday and accused of fatally shooting a 13-month-old baby in the face and wounding his mother during their morning stroll in Brunswick, Ga. Elkins is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, along with a 14-year-old who was not identified because he is a juvenile, Police Chief Tobe Green said. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Glynn County Detention Center)

Sherry West breaks down in tears as she describes the incident the day before where her 13-month-old son was fatally shot and she was wounded Friday, March 22, 2013 in Brunswick, Ga. West said Friday a teenager trying to rob her at gunpoint asked "Do you want me to kill your baby?" before he fatally shot her 13-month-old son in the head. (AP Photo/The Brunswick News, Bobby Haven)

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) ? The mother of a baby shot dead in his stroller took one look at a teenage suspect's jailhouse mugshot Saturday and said he was definitely the killer. Yet an aunt of the teen said he was eating breakfast with her when the slaying took place.

Despite the conflicting stories, police have charged 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins with murder, along with a 14-year-old suspect whose name has been withheld because he's a juvenile.

Brunswick police spokesman Todd Rhodes said even though Elkins' aunt provided an alibi, authorities have good reason to bring the charges.

"That's what she's saying, but the evidence we're looking at says something else," Rhodes said, though he would not elaborate.

Also Saturday, police in this coastal port city released 911 recordings from neighbors who sobbed and pleaded for help right after 13-month-old Antonio Santiago was shot in the head a few blocks from his mother's apartment.

Sherry West said she was pushing her baby in his stroller as she walked home from the post office Thursday morning. She said a teenager, with a younger boy behind him, approached and asked her for money. West said when she told him she had no money, the teen drew a gun and said: "Do you want me to kill your baby?"

The gunman opened fire and West was shot in the leg, while another bullet grazed her left ear, she said. She watched helplessly as the gunman shot her son in the face, she said.

Two teddy bears, a vase of flowers and a decorative cross had been left Saturday against a wooden fence near the shooting scene.

Katrina Freeman said Saturday the shooter can't be her nephew, Elkins, because he showed up at her house Thursday at 8:15 a.m. ? roughly an hour before the killing. She said she cooked eggs, grits and sausage for breakfast and that Elkins accompanied her and her children to run errands when they left at about 11:30 a.m.

"He was with us the whole time," said Freeman, adding that she gave police the same account of her nephew's whereabouts. "There is no doubt in my mind that he is innocent."

The slain boy's mother said she picked the gunman out of a photo lineup of 24 mugshots police brought to her Friday. When a reporter showed her the photo of Elkins taken when he was booked into the Glynn County jail Friday, she wept and nodded.

"He killed my baby, and he shot me, too," she said.

At her apartment Saturday, West had filled several bags with her son's clothes and diapers to donate to charity. She said she hopes prosecutors pursue the death penalty in the case.

"My baby will never be back again," West said, sobbing. "He took an innocent life. I want his life, too."

In 2008, West's 18-year-old son was stabbed to death in an altercation in New Jersey. Prosecutors said the stabbing was self-defense and did not file charges.

In Georgia, police said they are still searching for the gun. No eyewitnesses have come forward.

In the 911 recordings, two callers said they heard gunshots and then saw West take her son out of his stroller, lay him on the ground and try to revive him using CPR.

"Yes, I heard the shots. Somebody shot this child," said one sobbing caller, who told the operator there were three shots fired. "She's got him on the ground. Please, we need everything we can get."

The 911 operators asked the callers if the boy was breathing. Finally, a man in a grave voice, answers: "No, the baby's not breathing." He says the child was shot "right between the eyes."

A woman can be heard screaming in the background just before police arrive. Sirens drowned out her cries.

Elkins' relatives said Saturday they don't know if he has an attorney. His older sister, Sabrina Elkins, said police arrested him as he came to her home Friday.

"The police came pointing a Taser at him, telling him to get on the ground," she said. "He said, 'What are you getting me for? Can you tell me what I did?'"

The suspect's sister said he returned to Brunswick a couple of months ago after living in Atlanta for a while. While he wasn't enrolled in high school, she said, he had been taking classes to earn his GED.

"He couldn't have done that to a little baby," Sabrina Elkins said. "My brother has a good heart."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-23-US-Baby-In-Stroller-Slain/id-1ba00190d8824f9297883f22fe6f5a5a

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