Man sentenced 20 years to life in shaken baby case

A 34-year-old man accused of violently shaking a 2-month-old baby in 2006, causing injuries that led to the boy’s death five years later, has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Edward Thompson was convicted by a jury in February of first-degree murder for the death of Brayden Grusman-Buckmaster. He was sentenced in Clark County on Wednesday.

The case was complicated by the fact that Brayden lived after his injuries until he was 5. Clark County prosecutors said Thompson violently shook Brayden, inflicting traumatic brain injuries that eventually killed him.

But they needed the help of the boy’s mother, Monique Bork, to convict Thompson and cut a deal with her.

Bork helped cover up what Thompson, her boyfriend at the time of the abuse, had done. Two weeks after Brayden was hospitalized in August 2006, the couple married so Bork couldn’t be forced to testify against Thompson.

As a result of his injuries, Brayden was legally blind for the rest of his life. He lived with his maternal grandmother for about two years and then with a foster family until he was adopted.

Brayden died July 11, 2011, but Thompson and Bork weren’t arrested until a year later.

Bork testified against Thompson at his trial. As part of her deal with prosecutors, she pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm in September 2012. Bork was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison following Thompson’s conviction.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @fjmccabe