Warren mother sentenced for death of 7-month-old son

WARREN — A Warren mother has been ordered to serve between 27 1/2 to 50 years in prison for the death of her son in 2020.

Shantavia Hayden, 29, of Warren, was found guilty of second-degree murder after a two-week jury trial in September 2022 for the death of her infant son, A’Mir Griffin, who is believed to have starved to death at 7 months old. The sentence was handed down on Nov. 23 by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Biernat Jr.

On Oct. 11, 2020, Hayden brought her son to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, where an emergency room physician performed lifesaving efforts, but the child was reported to already be showing signs of rigor mortis, according to a press release from the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

A’Mir is believed to have been starved to death and had already been dead for several hours when he arrived at the hospital, the release states. Hayden was reported to have received 16 cans of food from the state’s WIC program during his life, seven of which arrived three days before he died.

Hayden also reportedly received $15,000 in jobless benefits over the course of four months as well as food stamps.

“The investigation showed that neither money nor food was the reason the infant died,” the release states.

Hayden was arraigned in Macomb County Circuit Court in January 2021. She was being held in the Macomb County Jail on a $1 million cash/surety bond, which her attorney at the time, Randy Rodnick, argued to have reduced later in the year, according to court records. However, that motion was denied.

A plea deal was extended to Hayden in January 2022. In February, Hayden requested a new attorney and was assigned one, according to court records.

Hayden’s current attorney, Andrew Hubbs, could not be reached for comment.