A Michigan woman charged earlier this week with child abuse for severe injuries inflicted on her girlfriend’s 4-month-old daughter has now been charged with murder.
Doctors at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids turned off life support for little Renzi McCall on Thursday, WXMI reported.
Savannah Miller, 31, was arrested on Sunday after the child’s biological mother, Amber McCall, came home from work and found baby Renzi with “bruises all over her body,” court documents say.
“Most notably, a very severe injury to her right eye, orbital, and bruises to her stomach, and bruises to her hip,” the documents say.
McCall had gotten off work just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning and tried to call and text Miller, but got no answer She and a co-worker went to the Reed City apartment but could not get inside. Eventually, they saw Miller sleeping through a bedroom window and began screaming and pounding on the window until Miller woke up and let them in.
That’s when they found baby Renzi, unresponsive in a Pack ‘n Play.
“Amber McCall’s co-worker felt the baby’s stomach, the documents say. “The baby wasn’t breathing at that point, but two seconds later the baby started to breathe.”
They called 911 and the baby was taken to the hospital, and Miller was taken into custody.
Miller told investigators that she had Door Dash deliver a package of 10 mini shooters of Fireball, despite being sober for “three or four months,” a detective said.
She told detectives that the baby’s bruises came from several “unfortunate” incidents, including falls from the bed and a kitchen counter and accidentally slamming the baby’s head onto a “sharp edge” while walking from the kitchen.
“She admits that she was the one in charge of the baby’s well-being at that time,” the documents say. “She said the entire night was very blurry.”
Miller has now been charged with first and second child abuse, felony murder, and second-degree murder. Her $150,000 bond has been revoked, and she is due in court again on August 1.
Meanwhile, Miller’s stepsisters told WXMI that Miller “should have been in jail” and not in Reed City at all.
“Savannah is a really good manipulator,” said Regina Resseguie, adding that they tried to warn authorities that Miller was a danger to her own three sons.
We have been trying for years to serve justice to her, because this is not the first incident of abuse that Savannah has inflicted on to children,” Desiree Gilbert said.
But, the stepsisters said, no charges were ever filed. They did not say where Miller’s children were.
Amber McCall’s father, Jeremiah White, told WZZM that his daughter called him frantic when she’d gotten into the apartment and found Renzi.
“She had conversations with [Miller] before, like, ‘if this is ever too much, if my daughter’s too much for you, let me know,’” White said. “’It’s not like, I don’t have people, I just have people here.’”
Miller and McCall had recently moved from Grand Rapids to Reed City, White said, and they were planning to spend the weekend with the baby’s grandparents.
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[Featured image: Renzi McCall/GoFundMe]
