warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
The case centers on Holly Sheppard, an Oklahoma babysitter who was connected to two separate infant cases several years apart. Authorities say both families had found her through Facebook babysitting posts, trusted her with very young children, and later faced devastating outcomes. Because the story involves children, many reports describe it as especially painful and difficult for the families involved.
In June 2023, a very young child named Korra was taken to a hospital in Ponca City, Oklahoma, after becoming seriously unwell while in Sheppard’s care. Police said their investigation showed that Sheppard had been babysitting Korra at the time. According to reporting, Sheppard first gave changing explanations about what happened, and later claimed there had been an accident. Investigators did not accept her explanations as matching the child’s condition.
Korra survived, but the situation led to a criminal case against Sheppard. In December 2024, Sheppard entered a no contest plea in Kay County to a child-abuse charge and was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of release after 25 years. Local reporting also said Korra continued recovering afterward, with updates shared through a page called Korra’s Journey.
The 2023 case caused investigators to look again at an older case from January 2018. In that earlier case, a 22-day-old infant in Oklahoma City became critically injured after the child’s mother had also found Sheppard through Facebook and left the baby in her care. The infant died days later. At the time, investigators could not prove who was responsible, so the case remained unresolved for years.
After Korra’s case, Oklahoma City investigators reportedly noticed similarities between the 2018 case and the 2023 case. A child-abuse expert also found similarities, according to reports. That review helped authorities bring a new charge against Sheppard in connection with the 2018 infant’s death. In June 2025, Sheppard was charged with first-degree murder in that older case and was held without bond.
Police are at the home of Doretta Simons.
Earlier that morning , her daughter- in- law,Holly Sheppard, had been babysitting a two – month- old baby girl.
Now that baby is on her way to the hospital with life- threatening injuries .
And Holly is calling it an accident.
No one in the house can agree on what just happened, but…
…someone had spent the morning googling whether a baby could survive a fractured skull.
Little did detectives know, Korra wasn’t the only victim.
Because whoever was responsible had done this before…
Many , many times.
On the morning of July 14th ,2023, 26 year old Holly Marie Shepard contacts emergency dispatchers in Panka City Oklahoma after discovering every babysitter’s worst nightmare.
When officers and paramedics rushed to the house, they find the situation far more distrubing than Holly described.
Two month old Korra is struggling for her life.
Her condition critical, with part of her head visibly deformed.
But when they inform Korra’s mother, McKenzie, she panics and insists that Korra had no birth defects and had suffered no recent injuries.
As the baby is rushed to the hospital, another unit stays behind to process the scene.
But it is here that the first red flags begin to appear that happened to Korra
May not have been an accident.
Doretta has already raised concerns about a break in the pattern of how Holly usually cared for Korra.
But at this stage of the investigation, it could just as easily be a warning as it could be an attempt to shift blame early.
And officers decide not to rely on Doretta’s word alone.
Due to the severity of her condition ,baby Korra id immediately flown to another hospital .
As her life hangs by a thread, investigators turn to the three people who where in the home that morning.
The babysitter Holly, her mother – in- law- Doretta , and Doretta’s sister Dorene, each offering their own account of what happened.
But officers cannot shake the feeling that something about this case does not add up.
Detectives know they need to examine the accounts of all three women closely, but the real challenge is determining the truth.
With each of them offering a different version of events.
Investigators begin with Holly.
Who first discovered Korra in such critical state.
She tells the detectives that she had just put Korra down for a nap when the baby suddenly began acting unusually.
Korra’s mother , McKenzie, would later tell police that she had been nervous about leaving her child with a stranger.
But Holly appeared to have a strong record .
And even provided several family members as references, including her mother -in – law, Doretta , to reassure her about Korra’s safety.
But despite those assurances, McKenzie was now living every mother’s worse nightmare.
Holly explains that her husband Sam had taken their two children to daycare, living her and her mother -in – law Doretta, at home caring for McKenzie’s two children.
When she says that she suddenly heard a very distrubing cry.
But while Holly appears to treat the incident lightly, Korra’s injuries are nothing short of harrowing .
Prompting her mother, McKenzie, to call Holly and demand answers.
Holly insists that she would never drop a baby on purpose.
But while it could simply the way she phrased it , the detective can’t help but wonder if it was a slip up .
Suggesting Korra may have been dropped accidentally.
For now , he lets Holly continue describing what happened after she noticed Korra’s injuries.
The detectives is already aware that the three women’s accounts differ in key details.
And that becomes even clearer when Doretta is brought in for Questioning, she recalls one crucial moment very differently from how Holly had described it.
While Holly had said that Doretta and her sister Doreen was sitting in the living room.
When she heard Korra’s anguished cries.
Doretta is certain that she was outside with her sister.
Leaving Holly alone inside the house with the baby.
And just as she had told the officer about her suspicions involving the crib , she repeats that claim firmly during the interrogation .
But this,small difference in routine
Does not prove that Holly was responisble for Korra rolling off the bed.
More over Holly stands firm in her account that she had placed the baby in the crib and that Korra had been in her arms the entire time before that.
But Holly says she knows why Doretta would make such a claime and that was’t the first time that Doretta had done something like this.
But officers at the scene had made a similar observation.
As the suspicions grows around Doretta’s invlovement , detectives decide to appeal to her emotions and show her Korra’s injuries, hoping that the child’s condition might pursaide her to tell the truth.
But what the detective doesn’t realize is that this will only complicate matters even further and bring out even more conflicting stories.
While Doretta denies every claim that Holly made so far, she will eventually reveal a hidden detail about Holly’s past that will soon send investigators down a rabbit hole.
for now, with both women refusing to budge and the contradictions growing with each question.
Investigators asks officers to speak with Doretta’s sister, dorene, whose statement will ultimately support one version of events while exposing serious flaws in the other.
Dorene’s account already confirms what Doretta told the detective about Holly being alone with the child.
And she said , ” but i have to go get the ambulance now and her mother “
But what Dorene says about finding Korra in the car seat raises news concerns.
But what Dorene said about Holly directly contradicted the message that Holly’s husband Sam said she had sent him when he spoke with detectives.
In these messages, Holly initially told Sam” it will be a quick visit to the hospital”
But when police arrived and she realized how serious the situation was,one of her message to him raised several red flags…
In it, Holly said that she was affraid their children would be taken away from them.
Back at the house , more distrubing details about Korra’s condition begin to surface…
…Rattling even the most experienced officers.
After gathering this crucial information, the detectives speaks to Doretta again to determine who is telling the truth and who is trying to shift the blame.
And just as detectives begin realizing that Holly is hiding far more about the cause of Korra’s injuries, they learn that she has walked out of the station and is now four blocks away.
But when they brng her back in, getting the truth from Holly proves anything but easy…
While she reveals a few details, she withholds much more .
And once again , as Holly continues to hide the truth , detecctives decide to take a more direct approach while still appealing to her emotions.
But despite Holly’s apparent confession, something still feels off, as if the full truth hasn’t been revealed.
To better understand how Korra was injured, the detectives ask Holly to demonstrate the fall.
She agrees to show him, unaware that the demonstration will later come back to haunt her.
Officers back at the house do find the toy.
But it does not appear to have been moved recently with dust settled over it.
As Holly’s story begins to tighten , detectives are troubled not only by the inconsistencies , but also by her relaxed body language and her complete lack of worry or remorse for what happened to Korra.
Not once has she asked about the baby or shown any concern for her condition.
Once again , the detective takes a more confrontational approach, hoping it will finally push Holly to tell the truth.
Bt he does not yet realize that Holly is determined to keep protecting herself.
While Holly refuses to waver from her account ,detectives soon uncover a disturbing lead from another family that will ultimately seal her fate .
For now, as they search her phone, they discover that while still at the scene , Holly had made several troubling internet searches;
” can a seizure cause brain bleed ?”
” will a two – month- old survive a brain bleed?”
and ” what happens if a baby has a fractured skull?
But it is what Doretta tells them later that day truly leaves investigators stunned.
This case took place in Oklahoma City in 2018 and the child’s injuries bore striking similarities to Korra’s.
Something that detectives found impossible to ignore.
Just like with McKenzie, Holly had had met the child’s mother through Facebook before being hired to babysit.
Armed with these new details,detectives returned to speak with Holly’s husband, Sam and Doretta , hoping to learn whether Holly ever mentioned any of it to them and to find more substantial proof.
Only three days after Holly began the babysitting job in Oklahoma City, she reported that something was wrong with the baby.
When the child was rushed to the hospital,doctors discovered multiple skull fractures and bleeding in the brain.
Tragically , the baby died.
But at the time , investigators were unable to prove the injuries had occurred while the child was in Holly’s care.
Sam insists that he had been lied to and was just as unaware of Holly’s action as anyone else.
And while no one is ever able to confirm exactly what Holly did to Korra, against all odds..
The baby survived.
Though Korra continues to face some complication from her injuries, she has been doing remarkably well.
Celebrating her birthdays and receiving immense support from the comunity.
Korra’s mother,McKenzie.
Documents her recovery on a facebook page called
” Korra’s Journey”,along with a GoFundMe page created to support her ongoing care.
Holly Marie Shepard was charged with felony child abuse placed on $500,000 bond and was ordered to have no contact with minors.
On November 26, 2024, Holly entered a no contest plea in Korra’s case and was sentence to life in prison with the posibility of parole after 25 years.
In 2025 , while serving that sentence, she was separately charged with firstdegree murder in connection with the 2018 death of a 3 -week old infant.
She pleaded not guilty in that case , and the proceedings are still ongoing.