2 admit shaking baby, who is now disabled

The baby's mother had claimed to be insane but was deemed competent.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Homewood Avenue man and woman, who had blamed each other for shaking their baby so violently that the child was left temporarily blind and permanently disabled, have pleaded guilty.
In the end, both will go to prison for it.
Cheryl Costanza, 35, and Antonio Fusco, 31, each pleaded guilty to one count of child endangering Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Prosecutors recommended a six-year prison sentence for each.
Judge Maureen A. Cronin ordered a background check on each defendant and said she will sentence them in about 60 days. Costanza was allowed to remain free pending sentencing, but Fusco is being held in the county jail.
Brain damage
Assistant prosecutor Dawn Krueger said the baby, who was about 6 weeks old at the time, has recovered from the blindness he suffered as a result of shaken baby syndrome. He does, however, still suffer effects of brain damage from being shaken.
The boy, who will be 4 in January, functions at the level of an 8-month-old, Krueger said.
"He babbles a lot," she said. "He doesn't walk, he doesn't talk, he doesn't even crawl."
She said the child has been placed in the care of Fusco's brother, who is raising him.
Authorities learned of the baby's injuries after he was taken to a local hospital in February 2000. Krueger said neither Costanza nor Fusco admitted hurting the baby, and each accused the other of doing it.
'Equally guilty'
"In this situation, they are equally guilty," Judge Cronin said.
In December 2000, Costanza pleaded innocent by reason of insanity, but a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation showed that she was competent to stand trial.
Defense attorney John F. Shultz said at the time that Costanza was once in a coma because of a brain aneurysm, which could have affected her thinking.
In court Tuesday, Costanza said she understood all of Judge Cronin's questions, understood what she was doing by pleading guilty, and understood that she will go to prison at sentencing.
Fusco answered the same questions but was unable to do so verbally. He suffered severe burns several years ago, leaving him unable to speak. He answered questions either by nodding his head or writing responses on a large paper pad with a black marker.
His attorney, Douglas B. Taylor, also helped him through the plea hearing.
Judge Cronin said she ordered Fusco held in jail pending sentencing because he failed to show up for court in the past after she had allowed him to remain free on bond.
Besides the child endangering, Fusco pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of burglary, for which he could be sentenced to an additional 18 months in prison.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;