Louisiana Woman Found Guilty of Shaking 18-Month-Old to Death

A Louisiana woman has been found guilty of shaking a toddler to death in 2020.

Tatianna Burns, of Shreveport, was convicted of the second-degree murder of an 18-month-old identified only as "A.W." on Thursday, July 11, in Caddo District Court, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Trial evidence indicated that Burns was not related to the girl, whom she reportedly shook for almost an hour, according to the Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.

According to police documents obtained by the outlet, "Burns stated that she then began to forcibly shake [A.W.] for about 45 minutes to an hour trying to get her to wake up," adding, "Burns advised that while she was on her way to the hospital with [A.W.] she was stopping at red lights and shaking her again, but she would not respond."

PEOPLE has reached out to the Caddo District Court and Shreveport Police Department for comment, as well as an attorney for Burns.

The district attorney's office reportedly called 11 witnesses to prove that Burns was responsible for A.W.'s death, while the state consulted four physicians who confirmed A.W. had "acute, abusive head trauma" at the time of her death, according to the Shreveport Times.

Per the outlet, Burns, also known as Tatianna Washington, had previously cared for a non-familial child in 2013, and was under investigation for torturing that child.

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Judge Donald Hathaway reportedly presided over the case regarding 18-month-old A.W., who died in June 2020, and Burns is next due to appear in court on July 23 at 9:30 a.m. local time.

She faces a mandatory life sentence without the option of suspension, parole or probation, the above outlets report.