Michigan NICU Nurse Charged With Child Abuse After Premature Baby Found With Broken Legs

A former neonatal intensive care nurse at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been charged with four counts of child abuse after a premature baby girl in the unit was found with broken leg bones and bruises across her body. Kieran L. Ansley, 43, of Niles, Michigan, faces two felony counts of second-degree child abuse and two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree child abuse, according to court records first reported by WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

The charges are allegations, and Ansley has not been convicted of anything. His attorney says he maintains his innocence. But the account laid out in court records is the kind every parent who has ever left a fragile newborn in a hospital’s care dreads.

Born at one pound, five months in intensive care

The girl was born in November 2025 at 23 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 1 ounce, according to local reports. She spent roughly five months in the NICU at Helen DeVos, which is operated by Corewell Health, and was nearing discharge in the spring.

According to court records cited by several outlets, her mother left the unit on the evening of April 2 with her daughter appearing fine. Ansley was covering the night shift in place of the baby’s usual night nurse, Gray News reported. When the mother returned at about 6:30 a.m. on April 3, court records say, Ansley moved quickly to intercept the family before they reached the room. Gray News reported that he “jogged” to block their path, pointed through the glass and told them the baby “slept through the night.”

Inside, the mother found her daughter’s tongue “blue and almost black,” according to the court account. When she removed the swaddle, she found new bruises. Ansley, according to court-record details reported by Hoodline, told her the tongue color had been seen before and was not significant. Gray News also reported that he said he had skipped the 2 a.m. care time because the baby was asleep, even though the computer system showed it as completed.

What the doctors found

The hospital’s daytime care team and its Center for Child Protection examined the baby. A full skeletal survey found multiple fractures, including broken bones in both legs. Gray News reported fractures to the femur, both tibias and the left fibula. Doctors also documented bruising on her hands, arms, thigh, buttocks, abdomen and tongue. Medical evaluations ruled out underlying disease as a cause, and according to court documents described by iHeartRadio and The National News Desk, doctors diagnosed pediatric physical abuse.

Colleagues told investigators that Ansley appeared “flustered,” “frustrated” and “overwhelmed” during the shift, iHeartRadio reported. One nurse said she was “a breath away” from telling him to “chill out.”

Then there are the door logs. Room-access records for the overnight shift showed 32 entries into the baby’s room, and 27 of them were attributed to Ansley, according to court documents as reported by Hoodline. iHeartRadio, citing the affidavit, also put his entries at 27 and reported that five other nurses entered only briefly.

The hospital, the court and the defense

Authorities charged Ansley in early September, iHeartRadio reported. He is free on bond with an electronic tether. His next court date is November 10, according to Hoodline.

Corewell Health said Ansley is no longer employed there. “Our hearts go out to the patient and the patient’s family,” the health system said. “The care and safety of our patients is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for abuse. Upon receiving the allegation, we took immediate action and the former employee is no longer with our organization. We have been fully cooperating with the police investigation.”

Defense attorney Damian Nunzio has said that his client has worked for many years in intensive-care settings, is a good person and maintains his innocence.

Under Michigan law, a bone fracture counts as serious physical harm. A first-offense second-degree child abuse charge carries up to 10 years in prison, and fourth-degree child abuse, a misdemeanor, carries up to a year in jail.

The good news, and the hard question

The baby is now home. Her grandfather told WOOD-TV she is “doing wonderful.” After everything she survived, from a birth weight of barely a pound to fractures in both legs, that is a small miracle.

But the case raises questions no hospital should be comfortable leaving to a criminal court alone. If the allegations are true, a baby was hurt over the course of one overnight shift in one of the most monitored units in any hospital, and the warning signs, a nurse described by colleagues as visibly agitated and a child with a blackened tongue, were in front of people in real time. Families who hand over a preemie at night are trusting not only the nurse on duty but the system around that nurse to notice when something is wrong.

Ansley is entitled to the presumption of innocence and his day in court. The family is entitled to answers, and so is every other parent who has signed in at that NICU.

A baby born at one pound who fought her way through five months of intensive care should never have needed protecting from the people paid to keep her alive.

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