Washington nanny, 59, is charged with murdering five-month-old baby who was found at home with skull fracture - after 'trying to blame injuries on toddler brother'

A Washington nanny has been charged with murdering a five-month-old baby who was found with a fractured skull.

Prosecutors say Sharon Arger, 59, tried to blame the infant's injuries on his two-year-old brother before changing her story 16 times in total.

Arger, of Airway Heights, is also accused of standing idle while medics performed CPR and failing to alert the baby's parents as to what was happening, court documents obtained by KREM show.

The nanny was home alone with the baby on November 2 when she called 911 with a report of an unconscious baby.

She told operators the child's brother had struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Sharon Arger, 59, has been charged with murdering a five-month-old baby who was found with a fractured skull

Prosecutors say she tried to blame the infant's injuries on his two-year-old brother before changing her story 16 times in total

The infant was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered evidence, 'strongly suggestive of an abusive event.'

The baby had a skull fracture, as well as bruising on his ear, forehead and neck consistent with 'being thrown from a moving vehicle,' according to doctors who insisted there was no way a toddler could have inflicted such harm.

He passed away on November 8, 2023, according to documents after days in the ICU. 

An autopsy revealed his cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head. 

The baby's mom told police only realized her son was in the hospital when she began receiving notifications from her home surveillance camera and saw him being taken out on a stretcher.

His dad said he was called just once by Arger, but it only rang one time. 

When the parents arrived at the hospital shortly after they told police they had not noticed any injuries before they left for work.

The baby's mom did note that he had a scratch on his stomach and bruised buttocks, which she said appeared after Arger began watching him alone.

The baby was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered evidence, 'strongly suggestive of an abusive event'.

On Thursday, Arger was booked into Spokane County Jail on one count of second-degree murder

Prior to this, the baby's father had been working remotely so had been in the home while Arger was in charge.

The parents told the nanny their son had recently become fussy due to teething and that he liked to be held more often.

Detectives interviewed Arger and stated she provided 16 different explanations for what happened.

They ranged from the baby choking on his bottle of milk, to his brother 'kicking' him.

On Thursday Arger was booked into Spokane County Jail on one count of second-degree murder. 

Her bond was set at $1 million after lawyers urged the judge to consider the 'severity' of the crime.

Arger is set to be arraigned on April 9.