Daycare operator in Republic is charged with shaking baby

A daycare owner is charged with shaking a baby who was injured last March in her unlicensed child care center in her home. Investigators believe Samantha Dillbeck, 28, injured 8-month-old Grayson Barnhart.

Republic police arrested Dillbeck at her home on Wednesday afternoon.

Dillbeck operated M and M Daycare. Police began investigating the daycare on March 21. Investigators say they worked closely with the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and medical professionals to determine a cause of the boy's injuries. Grayson was in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Springfield for nearly a week.

Besides the abuse charge, Dillbeck is also charged with operating a daycare center without a license, something for which she was warned about in May 2016. State law bans a childcare center from taking in more than four unrelated children without a license.

The complaint and probable cause statement attached at the right of this report have details about the investigation.