Md. daycare provider convicted in death of baby at retrial

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A Maryland daycare provider was found guilty in the death of a 9-month-old boy during a retrial on Thursday.

Trevor Ulrich died in 2009 from what doctors said was due to shaken baby syndrome. His parents finally witnessed the end of a nearly seven-year legal battle with the 59-year-old woman being convicted again for their son's death.

Gail Dobson was initially convicted of second-degree murder and child abuse in 2010. The trial was held on the Eastern Shore and she was sentenced to 20 years in jail. But the defense raised some questions about the prosecution's evidence pointing to shaken baby syndrome. Some doctors suggested there could have been an underlying illness or accident that would cause that kind of head trauma to the little boy.

A new trial was set starting in January and was held in Montgomery County. The jury again found Dobson guilty and she was sentenced again to 20 years in prison by a judge.

Montgomery County prosecutors were asked to assist with this retrial. Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said the head trauma sustained by Ulrich showed without a doubt he suffered from shaken baby syndrome.

"He had severe brain injury, he had brain swelling, he had a retinal tear, he had catastrophic injuries to his brain," McCarthy said. "The doctors there found that this was a homicide."

It took the jury a few hours to reach the same conclusion in the retrial.

Dobson has already spent four years in prison. The judge has now ordered her back for 16 more years.