Investigators said the baby’s final hours included missed feedings, delayed care and a stop before the hospital.
VALPARAISO, Ind. — A Valparaiso couple faces felony charges after police said their 6-month-old daughter was critically hurt at home, missed a normal overnight feeding and died days after a delayed trip to the hospital.
The investigation into Grant Ethan Stevens and Hannah Marie Evans, both 30, began with what each parent said happened inside their apartment on Oct. 28, 2025. Police said those statements, paired with medical findings from two hospitals and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, led to charges tied to abuse, neglect and the infant’s death.
Stevens told a Department of Child Services investigator that Evans had given him the baby for about two hours so she could take a break. He said he tried to feed the infant with a bottle, then saw mucus and vomit coming from her nose and mouth. Stevens said he became scared and tried back blows and CPR. He told investigators he did not call Evans into the room because he believed the child had begun breathing normally again. He also said he heard a wheeze. Police later treated that period as central to the case because doctors found injuries that officials said could not be explained by routine care or by the account Stevens gave.
Evans gave police a different view of the same stretch of time. She said she was in another room wearing noise-canceling headphones and playing a handheld video game. She told investigators she heard loud smacking sounds, went to check and saw vomit on Stevens’ shirt. Evans said Stevens told her the child had thrown up. She accepted the explanation and returned to the game, investigators said. That night, the couple put the baby down and went to sleep. The next detail Evans gave police was not a sound but a silence. She said the infant missed her usual 1:30 a.m. feeding and that she felt something was not right.
Evans told authorities she did not seek immediate help overnight. She said she planned to wait until morning and take the baby to a doctor if concerns remained. Around 6 a.m., investigators said, Stevens found the child cold to the touch and seemingly lifeless. The couple then chose to drive to Northwest Health in Porter rather than call 911. They told authorities they thought driving would be faster. Investigators later said the route did not match that explanation because the car went first to a Family Express gas station in the opposite direction of the hospital.
Police said the stop was for a Red Bull energy drink, cigarettes and a candy bar. The trip to the hospital took about 30 minutes, according to investigators. Evans said Stevens insisted on stopping and that she was upset, according to the police account. By then, doctors later said, the baby was likely dying. The gas station stop became more than a detail about the drive. It became part of the neglect allegation, because investigators said the delay came when the infant needed emergency care and when an ambulance had not been called.
At Northwest Health, doctors found severe internal trauma. The infant had a perforated bowel and a fractured rib from weeks earlier, according to the records described in reports. She was transferred from Porter County to University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital. A child abuse expert there said she was in septic shock from infection and likely was dying during the drive. The expert concluded there was no medical explanation for the injuries other than physical abuse. The child died Oct. 31, three days after the apartment incident.
The medical examiner’s ruling added another layer. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide due to multiple injuries. The office found several broken ribs in different stages of healing. Investigators said that finding supported an allegation that the infant had suffered more than one injury before the final hospital visit. The reports do not say every injury has been tied in court to a specific date or act. They do say doctors and investigators saw a pattern that moved the case beyond an isolated medical emergency.
Prosecutors charged Stevens with aggravated battery and two counts of neglect of a dependent. Evans was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Police said Stevens’ counts reflect allegations of physical abuse and failure to get care. Evans’ count reflects the alleged failure to protect the child and seek emergency treatment. The charges are accusations, and both defendants are entitled to contest the evidence in court. Reports after the arrests did not identify attorneys for the couple or list a firm date for their next hearing.
Evans also told investigators about earlier concerns involving Stevens. She said the child once had abdominal bruising after hitting a coffee table while Stevens was caring for her. She also said Stevens had referred to the baby with abusive language. Police did not describe those statements as the sole basis for the charges. Instead, they are part of a larger file that includes the parents’ statements, the missed feeding, the 6 a.m. discovery, the gas station stop, the hospital findings and the homicide ruling.
The case remains rooted in a narrow timeline, beginning when Evans handed the baby to Stevens and ending three days later at a Chicago children’s hospital. The next stage is procedural, with the Porter County courts expected to handle filings, appearances and any hearings where prosecutors and defense attorneys address the medical evidence and the parents’ accounts.
Author note: Last updated June 16, 2026.