Joshua Riley and Roshanda Hagens, Missouri parents, have been charged in connection with their 5-month-old son’s 2022 death. The boy’s autopsy revealed a multitude of injuries caused by “severe shaking.” Riley allegedly Googled “shaken baby syndrome” and which countries did not “expedite” back in 2022.
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According to a Springfield Police Department probable cause statement, the case started back on July 17, 2022. Hagens brought her 5-month-old to Mercy Hospital, with staff noting that the child was “likely brain dead.” At the time, the boy was not breathing and unresponsive. Days later, he was pronounced dead.
Medical staff noted several worrying injuries in the child’s body. These include multiple bilateral brain bleeds, retinal hemorrhages in both eyes, and bruising on all sides of his head, among many other injuries. A neuropathologist and a subsequent autopsy revealed that the infant’s injuries were attributed to “severe shaking.”
Moreover, trauma on the boy’s spine revealed that he had been subjected to “excess flexion of the trunk while being held tightly during shaking.”
Troubling Findings
In August 2022, detectives spoke with Hagens. She allegedly claimed that the boy had started to breathe in an increasingly distressing manner at the time. However, as the document stated, her statement was proven “untruthful.”
Joshua Riley told detectives that he was alone when he received Hagens’ call regarding the child’s health. However, evidence showed that the three of them had traveled across multiple states from February to May of 2022.
The document alleges that Hagens searched “How long does a baby have to stay up after hitting their head” on April 12, 2022. Additionally, she also searched, “How long should I keep my baby awake after a fall,” “How do I know if my baby is ok after a fall,” and “how do I know if baby is ok after falling off bed.”
Hours later, on April 12, Riley searched “how do I know if my child’s head injury is serious.” A month later, Riley allegedly searched “what does it mean when y our poop is green.”
However, after Riley dropped Hagens and the baby at Mercy Hospital, he allegedly searched for the most troubling queries.
“Joshua was observed conducting several searches about RSV before searching “Shaken baby syndrome,” information about lawyers, if a passport was needed to fly to Cuba, what countries did not “extradite,” and if your location was still provided if “samara” logs were not certified;” the document alleges.
The Greene County medical examiner determined the 3-year-old’s cause of death to be a closed head injury. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
As per KY3, in June 2025, Joshua Riley and Roshanda Hagens were charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child – death of a child.