The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating a 21-year-old woman who is wanted for her involvement in a child abuse case that left her 3-year-old daughter gravely injured.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Shaqwana Baker, whose last known address is in the Bronx. She has recently stayed in North Bergen and Secaucus, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Baker and her boyfriend, Edward Smith, 29, of Far Rockaway, New York, are both charged with aggravated assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Smith was arrested Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at the Hudson County Correctional Facility, South Kearny, where he was being held pending a detention hearing on additional criminal charges.
On Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, the New York City Police Department was notified by NYU Langone Hospital that Baker brought her 3-year-old daughter to the facility with life-threatening injuries. The child was later transported to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Bellevue Hospital, where she continues to receive medical treatment.
An investigation by the NYPD and HCPO Special Victims Unit determined the 3-year-old girl was the victim of child abuse and was injured while staying at a North Bergen motel with Baker and Smith. Her injuries are expected to be permanent and life-altering.
The state has filed a detention motion against Smith, is tentatively scheduled for Monday, March 7, 2022.
Anyone with information on Baker’s whereabouts is asked to contact the HCPO’s SVU at (201) 915-1234 or leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutor’s official website at www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide–tip. All information will be kept confidential.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.