Oregon mother Sharday McDonald gets just 30 days in jail for waterboarding her baby and putting him in the freezer to see if his father “gave up,” while insisting she wasn’t trying to kill her child
- Sharday McDonald, 30, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for criminal assault, tampering with a witness and identity theft
- She was arrested by Gresham police in October 2021 for waterboarding and trying to put her baby in her freezer
- McDonald denied wanting to hurt the child and claimed her action was out of spite while arguing with the baby’s father
An Oregon mother arrested for waterboarding her baby and putting him in the freezer to test whether the baby’s father cared has been jailed for just 30 days.
Sharday McDonald, 30, was found guilty of criminal assault, witness tampering and identity theft and was sentenced on September 12 to 30 days in jail and three years of probation.
The mother was arrested by Gresham police in October 2021 as she put the baby in the freezer and screamed, “You don’t want him. Let me show you this little damn baby that I don’t give a damn about!” through the door.
She had the baby in her arm when she opened the door for the police.
The baby’s father later showed police a video call he had with McDonald, during which she held the baby by his romper and waterboarded him.
Sharday McDonald, 30, was found guilty of assault, tampering with a witness and identity theft and was sentenced on September 12 to 30 days in jail and three years of probation.
According to police reports, it appeared the baby was trying to hold his breath as water flowed down his face and into his nose.
Court documents show police spoke to a pediatrician and showed photos of the incident, who said the child would have been unable to breathe with water pouring into his nose.
The incident could have caused serious and life-threatening complications. The baby’s current condition and location are unknown.
After officers arrested her, McDonald said she was sorry and that she did it to test the father to see if “he even cared.”
She also told police she thought if she put her baby under running water, the father would come back.
It is not yet known where the father was while the baby was waterboarding.
McDonald also told officers that she was not trying to hurt or kill her son by drowning him or putting him in the freezer, but that she deliberately waterboarded the baby out of spite.