DFACS 'granny' denies murdering toddler

MACON - A 50-year-old former child-care worker accused of killing a 19-month-old girl under her care has pleaded innocent to charges of murder and cruelty to children. <br> <br> Pearlie Mae Jones, who worked as a ``granny&#39;&#39; for the Department of Family and Children Services, made her plea Wednesday. She faces one count of murder and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree for the Jan. 26, 2000, death of Ariel Shaw. <br> <br> She was arrested the following month and indicted in July 2000. According to the indictment, Jones struck the left side of Ariel&#39;s head, resulting in a hemorrhage and a traumatic brain injury. Ariel also had been hit in the abdomen. <br> <br> The charges were later dropped because of a technical problem with the indictment, but she was re-indicted earlier this month. <br> <br> Jones also faces two civil suits filed by Ariel&#39;s parents in state and federal courts seeking unspecified damages for allegedly causing their daughter&#39;s death. The suit in Superior Court also seeks damages from the state for allegedly neglecting to properly train and supervise Jones. <br> <br> Jones worked for the Murphy Homes ``Granny House&#39;&#39; run by DFACS, one of three centers in the Macon area that lets special-needs children receive care in their own communities. <br> <br> Ariel was taken to the Medical Center of Central Georgia on Jan. 23 when one of her caretakers noticed she was having trouble breathing. She died a few days later. <br> <br> DFACS officials saw nothing suspicious about the death because doctors told them the child who weighed only 15 pounds had succumbed to a long-standing health problem. Police got involved after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation received a tip.

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