GREENFIELD — A Greenfield woman is being held on $5,000 bail after allegedly abusing her baby to the point of causing injuries that include a skull fracture, bite marks, a jaw fracture and a brain bleed.

Alexis C. McClure, 24, of School Street, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of assault and battery causing bodily injury to a child under 14. She was arraigned before Judge John McKenna in Greenfield District Court on Nov. 9, and is due back in court for a pretrial conference on Dec. 1.

Special conditions of release would consist of not leaving the state without permission, staying 100 yards from the alleged victim and having no contact with her, reporting to probation as directed, having no unsupervised contact with children under 16, and refraining from drugs and submitting to screenings. McClure is being represented by defense attorney Emily Shallcross, of the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

McClure was arrested Nov. 8. The state alleges a woman called 911 at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 to request a welfare check on the defendant, whose father had recently died and who was experiencing postpartum depression and making suicidal threats. Greenfield Police Officer Matthew Llewelyn and a Clinical & Support Options (CSO) worker responded to McClure’s home to conduct the welfare check and asked to see her 16-month-old child, but McClure refused, stating the baby was sleeping and she did not want to wake her.

The 911 caller filed an emergency child abuse report with the state Department of Children and Families (DCF), and investigators conducted a welfare check. They found that the baby had several visible injuries, including an extremely swollen nose, eyes that were black and blue, injuries to her hands and feet, abrasions on her lips, and what appeared to be bite marks all over her body. The baby was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield to be evaluated.

According to a report by Dr. Stephen Boos, a child abuse pediatrician, there were multiple abrasions and open wounds on the baby’s body, including her upper back, upper chest, buttocks and left foot. These marks left bruising and broke the skin. Boos reported the baby could not have bitten herself on the chest, back or buttocks.

A CT scan revealed a modest amount of blood within the skull, a jaw fracture, a skull fracture and a missing tooth. A skeletal X-ray revealed fractures to the left arm and a spiral fracture to the right arm. Boos noted there are at least two times of injury.

According to the state, a DCF investigator and Greenfield Police Detective Corey Greene spoke with McClure, who explained she did not have custody of her daughter from the time the baby was born in June 2020 to July 2021, at which time the baby came to live with her. McClure said she is not in a relationship with the baby’s father, who sees the baby once every three weeks.

McClure agreed to speak with Greenfield Police Detective Justin Purinton when she was arrested Nov. 8. She reportedly began to cry and avoid eye contact. She kept telling Purinton she loved her child and would never hurt her. According to court documents, she claimed many of the injuries occurred when the child fell on her own during separate incidents. McClure said she believed the marks on the baby’s body were the result of the baby pinching herself. When told the marks broke the skin, McClure said they may have come from playgroup.

When Purinton explained McClure’s explanations could not have caused her daughter’s injuries, she stated she tossed the baby into her crib two weeks prior following an argument with the baby’s father. She said the baby seemed fine and never cried after being thrown in the crib.

McClure reportedly denied intentionally hurting her daughter and said she never brought her to a hospital because she knew it wouldn’t look good to DCF and she had fought hard to regain custody.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.

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