LIHUE — A Kauai woman, Michelle Galvez, was found guilty during a bench trial Thursday in Fifth Circuit Court of assault in the second degree. The victim, a child under her care, suffered such severe brain injuries that he requires around-the-clock care.
The assault on Oct. 24, 2015 resulted in the victim sustaining a subdural hematoma, a linear fracture to his skull and severe retinal hemorrhaging to his right eye.
“As a result of the vicious act of aggression on (the baby), he is unable to move himself independently, he is unable to speak, he is unable to see, he is unable to talk,” said Michelle Puu, deputy attorney general for the state of Hawaii.
During closing arguments, Puu said there were two issues of contention.
The first, did the child cause the injuries to himself, or did the defendant cause his injuries? Secondly, when the defendant did this, did she act with an intentional or knowing state of mind?
The first question, Puu told the court, is easy to answer, after testimony from the state’s expert witness in child abuse, Kayal Natarajan.
With 15 years of experience in child abuse pediatrics, Natarajan said there was no possible scenario where the baby could have caused such significant injuries to himself.
“Given the fact that there is a subdural hematoma as well as the extent of retinal hemorrhaging, it is simply impossible for a child of that size and that age to have been able to generate the amount of force required,” Puu said.
The degree of retinal hemorrhaging sustained by the baby is only found in those who have been in a severe car accident or sustained high falls or a crushing head injury with skull fractures, Puu said.
Regarding the defendant’s state of mind, the question is equally as simple, Puu said. Did she know the handling of the baby could cause the level of injury he sustained, the serious bodily injury?
The answer to that could also be her conduct following the incident and her account of what happened, Puu said, arguing Galvez attempted several times to cover up the extent of her baby’s injuries by saying he was choking.
The fact that Galvez didn’t tell anyone the baby had struck his head on the entertainment center is indicative of her state of mind the day of the incident, she said.
“Why wouldn’t you tell right away, assuming this was an accident? The only reason you wouldn’t reveal right away is because you’re the one responsible for that injury. There is no other plausible explanation for her concealment,” Puu said.
Defense attorney Emmanuel Guerrero said the evidence does not show that Galvez picked up the baby and threw him. Ms. Galvez did not physically, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly harm the baby, Guerrero said.
“The state makes a big point about (the baby) was a nagging child, fussy, too much to handle, and because of that they are telling you beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Galvez’ state of mind was nothing but anger, frustration, focused and directed at the baby,” he said.
The baby was a normal child, but had a cold for a couple of weeks and needed more attention, Guerrero said.
“That does not equate to frustration, anger and intent to harm the child. That’s not what the evidence shows. The evidence shows reasonable doubt as to the state of mind of trying to calm a child for Ms. Galvez.”
The question, Guerrero said, is whether Galvez caused the injury to the child.
“She did not,” he said. “There is no physical evidence whatsoever that Michelle caused the harm of (the baby).”
The witnesses say no, the lack of evidence says no, Guerrero said.
“I would agree with the court that all of those doubts that she’s not guilty of the charge in the first degree,” he said.
In his ruling, Chief Judge Randal Valenciano said the court didn’t find the injuries to the child to be accidental and charged Galvez with assault in the second degree because the child, who is under eight years old, suffered severe bodily injuries.
Because she was found guilty of assault in the second degree, Galvez was not eligible for probation and was remanded into custody. Bail was denied and she’ll serve mandatory jail time.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 26.
My name is fawna Kiefer my son hekili naea was the victim. This article stated the victim was Michelle’s son which is incorrect. Please adust the article to reflect this
Fawna Keifer is the child’s mother. Michelle Galvez was the day care provider who assaulted and almost killed baby Hekili. You also have the year of the assault wrong. Please fix this story to reflect the truth!
I don’t understand why if this happened in 2015 and with the extent of injuries, has it taken going on 3 years for this women to be charged for the abuse. The child is a victim here what happened to the justice for him?
Thanks for sharing the truth Carla
Carla Hart The Garden Island newspaper needs to write another article with accurate information: Fawna Kiefer is the mother of the victim, he was a perfect 10 month old happy baby that I played with and fed at church within a week or so of his assault that left him permanently disabled (why would the reporter state he was a fussy baby? So not true). Michelle Galves was a child care provider who continued to advertise childcare services during the months Hekili was fighting for his life! She never contacted Fawna to ask how Hekili was. Her status as a child care provider needs to be reported to warn parents who need child care services. And the newspaper reports Michelle’ s BS story that Hekili hit his head on an entertainment center! What? Didn’t she say a t.v. tray after lying and saying he choked? When she lied about him “choking” rather than saying he had a head injury Hekili lost valuable life saving time & treatment. She did not call for help until he was unconscious! Professionals already stated Hekili could not have caused this damage to himself. He did not hit his head on an entertainment center. This innocent baby was punched or kicked in the head (behind his right ear) by a large, angry adult. That is what the doctors and professionals who deal with child abuse have said. After waiting years for justice for Hekili and his mama it is disheartening to see such biased, uninformed reporting printed in the paper for all of Kauai to see. I wonder if people can write letters to the judge to request maximum punishment allowed by law and why we feel Michelle Galves deserves that? Considering sexual predators cannot be around children ever again in their lifetime, Michelle Galves, if she ever is released from jail, should never be allowed to provide child care or be around children ever again for the rest of her life. Having been to Shriners hospital once with Hekili, it would have been nice to see Hekili’s fight for life in that article, numerous trips to Shriners on Oahu, in a coma for over a month, so many surgeries, seizures, medicines, a diligent mama trying alternative healing methods, acupuncture, keto diet and so much more. So many doctors & therapists who have worked with Hekili for years. Every one of them states what a miracle it is that Hekili survived this traumatic, life altering assault by someone who herself is a mother. Why wasn’t Michelle Galves’ husband also charged with assault? Wasn’t he home when Hekili was assaulted? And why is assault the only charge?This was attempted murder that included torture and inhumane treatment of an innocent baby. This was extreme child abuse! And the article states this happened Oct. 2015! Wasn’t it in 2013? That one typo erases two years of Hekili fighting to stay alive and how long it has taken to get justice for him. Kauai residents need to know that this woman has continued providing child care for 4 years after what she did to Hekili. Not 2 years, over 4 years!!!!
Praying for Hekili & Fawna. Hoping God provides a miracle for Hekili and justice for the cruel person or persons who nearly killed him
She shouldn’t ever be released. Life in prison of execution. Simple as that. That poor child and that poor family. I can not even imagine.
While this article has been corrected to this Michelle Galvez being the caregiver, not the child’s mother it is still not correct. This assault happened in 2013, not 2015!!
Please print the correct story.
God Bless You Fawna and Hekili. We love you guys.
appalling story…especially the ‘editorial; that described the baby as ‘nagging, fussy’! Is the baby being blamed for his injuries? A baby with a cold is fussy…an adult with a cold is ‘fussy’!
This article infuriated me how dare a adult or anyone for that matter ever hurt a child , an innocent baby yes it’s hard work at times but I don’t ever hit , spank but verbally correct a child they don’t know better. Even on our worst day it’s WRONG this lady will have. Rough time I. Prison people and the community will hate her for what she has done & rightfully so because she intentionally lied under oath as well