Detectives with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office have charged a 19-year-old woman with attempted first degree murder and other crimes in connection with serious injuries sustained by her newborn baby.
On April 9, Charles County Sheriff’s officers responded to Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton for the report of suspected child abuse. The hospital was treating an 18-day-old infant with serious head injuries.
Shortly thereafter, the baby was transported to the Children’s National Medical Center hospital in Washington, D.C.
Detectives with the Special Victims Unit (SVU) responded to investigate. Doctors advised the baby’s injuries were the result of significant blunt force trauma.
The victim’s mother, Elizabeth Maria Schroeter, 19, initially advised she did not know how the injuries had occurred. SVU detectives continued their investigation and discovered Schroeter had thrown the infant to the floor of her residence in the 12200 block of Gillespie Circle in Waldorf because she was angry at her husband for leaving the residence and the baby would not stop crying.
Detectives arrested Schroeter on April 13 and charged her with physical child abuse, attempted first- and second- degree murder, first- and second- degree assault, reckless endangerment and providing a false statement to a police officer.
The infant is in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital and is temporarily in the custody of the Department of Social Services. Elizabeth Schroeter is being held at the Charles County Detention Center without bond.