Oneida man charged in toddler's death Investigator Jim Malloy of the Ashwaubenon Public Safety Department and Brown County District Attorney John Zakowski look over the criminal complaint in the death of two-year-old Sawyer White at a news conference Wednesday (photo by H. Marc Larson). Patrick Donley is being held on a $250,000 bond and could face up to 60 years in prison By Monique Balas News-Chronicle A 32-year-old Oneida man was charged with first-degree reckless homicide on Wednesday after police said he confessed to shaking a 2-year-old to death. Patrick Donley was accused of violently shaking Sawyer White, his girlfriend's child, after getting upset with the boy on Sept. 3. The boy sustained retinal hemorrhaging and brain swelling from the shaking. He died as a result of the injuries three days later in St. Vincent Hospital's pediatric intensive care unit. Doctors called Ashwaubenon Public Safety when they suspected child abuse. An officer arrived at the hospital at 7:50 p.m. the day Sawyer was brought to the hospital after the boy arrived at about 3 p.m., according to the criminal complaint. He initially had been taken to St. Mary's Hospital but was transferred to St. Vincent for surgery. Sawyer's mother, Ashwaubenon resident Teshia White, left Sawyer with Donley when she took her two other children on an outing. She later received a call from Donley saying the child had fallen down the stairs. White initially corroborated his story, telling investigators she was home doing laundry when she heard a thump and found her child at the bottom of the stairs. Brown County District Attorney John Zakowski said at Wednesday news conference White probably was trying to protect her boyfriend. "I think it's a situation where she doesn't want to believe someone she loves could have possibly done this to a child," Zakowski said. Police said Donley initially lied to investigators but confessed to the crime on Oct. 29 to Ashwaubenon Public Safety detective Scott Schermitzler. Before the confession, Donley reportedly told police a second version of the story. He said Sawyer was supposed to be sleeping but instead was "yelling around and throwing a fit" the night the shaking occurred. He told Schermitzler he started shaking Sawyer, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him until he went limp. Investigators said they took nearly two months to charge Donley because they wanted to make sure they were charging the right person. "You don't want to jump to conclusions," said investigation commander Jim Molloy. "There's still always the chance that it could be an accidental injury, even though you feel it probably isn't." Donley is being held on $250,000 cash bond and faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted. Donley is due back in court Wednesday for a balance of his initial appearance. He was placed in jail Sept. 18 on an unrelated probation hold. Zakowski said Sawyer's death was similar to that of another 2-year-old from Ashwaubenon, Tommy Burke, who died in 2001 after Erin Hill hit and shook him to death. Hill maintained the toddler fell down the stairs but was convicted in February of reckless homicide, child abuse and sexual assault. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Zakowski said the retinal injuries Sawyer received were far more extensive than Tommy Burke's.