Remembering Cash

Cash Christopher Bell was only four months old. He was the son of Christopher and Ashley Bell, and before the injuries that ultimately took his life, Cash was a healthy baby with no known medical problems. On the morning that everything changed, Cash was doing exactly what a four-month-old baby should have been doing. His father woke early, changed his diaper and gave him a bottle. His mother placed him in his bassinet while she finished getting ready for work. Cash was awake and active. He was making eye contact. He was smiling. He was cooing. He was laughing. Those details matter. Because Cash's story would soon become filled with medical terminology, criminal charges, court testimony and questions about adults who had opportunities to protect him. But before any of that, Cash was a happy little baby smiling at his parents on an ordinary morning. He was four months old. He was completely dependent upon the adults around him. And he deserved to be safe in the arms of every person trusted to care for him.

Cash's Story

In January 2013, Christopher and Ashley needed temporary childcare for Cash while they waited for a new daycare to open that summer. They searched for a nanny through an online caregiving service and ultimately hired Sarah Cullen. Cullen appeared to have the qualifications a family would look for. She had childcare experience and had previously worked at daycare centers. Cash's parents also conducted a background check before hiring her, and it revealed no concerns. Cullen began caring for Cash in January. But during the weeks that followed, Cash began suffering unexplained injuries while in her care. Evidence later presented during Cullen's criminal trial showed that Cash had sustained prior injuries during the period she cared for him. Those injuries became important because prosecutors argued they were part of the same pattern that culminated in his death. Then came February 28, 2013. Cash's parents left their healthy, smiling baby in Cullen's care that morning. Hours later, everything had changed. Cash was brought to an emergency room in extreme distress. He was not alert or awake. His eyes were not pointing in the same direction. A CT scan revealed devastating injuries, including two skull fractures and a subdural hematoma. Cash was transferred by medical helicopter to Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha. Doctors discovered catastrophic damage. A pediatric radiologist later testified that approximately 90 percent of Cash's brain had been injured and that blood was distributed throughout his brain. Cash's injuries were not survivable. For five days, his family remained with him. Then, on March 5, 2013, four-month-old Cash Christopher Bell died from his injuries.

What Happened to Cash

Sarah Cullen gave investigators different explanations for Cash's injuries. At one point, she claimed she had been carrying Cash while giving him gas-relief drops when she slipped on the stairs and Cash fell. She said Cash wasn't crying afterward but was lying on the floor with his fists clenched. She acknowledged that she did not immediately seek medical help. Medical evidence did not support an innocent explanation for what happened. Prosecutors argued that Cash had been violently shaken and slammed, causing devastating trauma to his head and brain. The evidence also showed previous injuries Cash had sustained while Cullen was caring for him. The Nebraska Supreme Court later summarized what happened plainly: Cullen inflicted the fatal injuries on Cash while he was in her care. Cash had been smiling and laughing that morning. By the end of the day, his brain had been catastrophically damaged. He would never return home. Warning Signs & Missed Opportunities Cash's case became even more disturbing when investigators learned about Sarah Cullen's employment history before she became his nanny. Cullen had previously worked at childcare centers. And there had been warning signs. Former coworkers reported witnessing troubling incidents involving Cullen and children in her care. At one daycare, a worker reported seeing Cullen force a child's shoe-covered foot into the child's mouth hard enough to cause the child's lip to split and bleed. Cullen was also reportedly seen grabbing another young child, flinging the child into a classroom and dropping them. Another employee told law enforcement that Cullen had slammed a child onto the floor hard enough to make the child cry. Those allegations had not reached Cash's parents when they were searching for someone to care for their baby. From Christopher and Ashley's perspective, they had done what parents are told to do. They searched for an experienced caregiver. They looked at Cullen's childcare background. They conducted a background check. Nothing they received warned them that people at Cullen's previous workplaces had reportedly witnessed concerning behavior toward children. After Cash died, the owner of one of Cullen's former childcare centers pleaded no contest to failure to report child abuse in connection with incidents involving Cullen. Cash's parents later pursued a wrongful-death lawsuit against Cullen's former childcare employers, arguing that had those earlier incidents been properly reported, Cullen might never have been in a position to become Cash's nanny. The case eventually reached the Nebraska Supreme Court. The court acknowledged the tragic circumstances but ultimately ruled that, under Nebraska law and the specific facts of the case, the former childcare centers did not owe Cash a legal duty to protect him from the later criminal acts of their former employee. The dismissal of the claims against the centers was therefore upheld. The legal ruling did not erase the painful question left behind: What might have happened if the earlier warning signs had reached the people who needed to know? Cash's parents had searched for someone they believed they could trust. They had no way of knowing what others had allegedly already seen.

Justice for Cash

Sarah Cullen was prosecuted for Cash's death. During her trial, prosecutors presented medical evidence about Cash's catastrophic injuries as well as evidence of previous injuries he had suffered while Cullen was caring for him. The jury found Cullen guilty of intentional child abuse resulting in death. In May 2014, Cullen was sentenced to: 70 years to life in prison. Cullen appealed her conviction and sentence. In 2015, the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed both, rejecting her challenges to the evidence, prosecution and sentence.

Sarah Cullen Relationship: Nanny/caregiver

Conviction: Intentional child abuse resulting in death

Sentence: 70 years to life in prison

Forever Remembered

Cash Christopher Bell lived for only four months. Four months is barely enough time for a baby to begin discovering the world. But Cash had already begun. He knew his parents' voices. He could look into their faces. He could smile. He could coo. He could laugh. And on the final ordinary morning his parents had with him, that is exactly what he was doing. Cash should have had so many firsts ahead of him. His first tooth. His first word. His first steps. His first birthday. His first day of school. Instead, his parents were forced to spend five days beside their critically injured baby before saying goodbye. The court records tell us about skull fractures and brain injuries. They tell us about trials, appeals and lawsuits. But Cash's life should never be reduced to the injuries inflicted upon him. So we remember something else. Cash was smiling that morning. He was laughing. He was making eye contact with the people who loved him. He was a healthy little boy beginning a life that should have lasted for decades. His name was Cash Christopher Bell. Abuse Angels remembers Cash Christopher Bell the smiling four month old baby who deserved thousands more mornings with his parents and an entire lifetime of firsts still waiting ahead of him. We remember Cash. We speak his name. And Cash will not be forgotten.