LAS VEGAS -- It took six years and a report by 8 News NOW, but Metro Police have made two arrests in a brutal shaken baby case. Five-year-old Brayden Grusman-Buckmaster died July 10, 2011 from injuries he suffered as an infant.
Twenty-six-year-old Monique Bork gave birth to Brayden in 2006. Bork and her ex-husband, 32-year-old Edward Thompson, are now charged with the child's murder.
Partners Gayle Grusman and Tish Buckmaster adopted Brayden when he was two years old.
"He was legally blind. He suffered from seizures. He was unable to talk. At that point that we had him, he was unable to eat by mouth," Grusman said. "I don't know what they were thinking."
As a newborn, Brayden was shaken so badly, his brain bled and swelled. Bork and Thompson finally took the nearly-dead baby boy to the hospital.
"What on earth could a six-week-old baby do to make you angry enough to do what was done to Brayden, to shake him that hard?" said Buckmaster.
Metro didn't have enough evidence at the time to charge Bork or Thompson. Bork gave up Brayden, and Tish and Gayle adopted him.
"I love Brayden as much as I do my natural kids and grandkids," Buckmaster said.
Just over a year ago, Brayden suffered a major seizure - a direct result of the horrific abuse he endured as a baby - and died.
"We cry every day. We have good memories, but we have bad memories, because he's not with us anymore," Grusman said.
Buckmaster and Grusman shared their sorrow on 8 News NOW in April. "We contacted you guys and did our original story, and a witness came forward," Gayle said.
That 8 News NOW viewer gave homicide detectives just what they needed to arrest Bork and Thompson. Bork confided in the tipster that Thompson shook Brayden, and she helped cover up the crime.
Brayden's adoptive parents miss him dearly, but take comfort believing he's doing things he couldn't when he was alive. "He's running. He's playing. He's talking," Tish said. "We know he is, and he's happy."
According to the new witness in this case, Bork and Thompson decided to marry after Brayden was shaken so they "can't testify against each other."
They are due before a judge Thursday morning. Both refused requests for interviews.
Monique Bork
Edward Thompson
