BATAVIA, Ohio — A Clermont County family is grappling with an unthinkable betrayal after a woman they trusted for decades allegedly severely injured their 1-year-old daughter while babysitting.
Ricky Bilby said his niece Layla is a "happy-go-lucky little baby" who loves to eat and always has a smile on her face. Now, she's recovering at Cincinnati Children's after suffering a brain bleed, retinal hemorrhaging and potential spinal injuries.
"She is such a happy baby, she's so caring. And to think that this type of thing happened to her at such a young age, it's just absolutely heartbreaking," Bilby told us. "In my eyes, this is probably one of the most egregious things that anyone could do on the face of the earth."
Bilby and other family members were in Batavia Wednesday for Amanda Greger's scheduled arraignment. Though it was continued to a later date, Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Kevin Miles heard the allegations against Greger before setting bond at $500,000.
Greger, 37, of Goshen, faces nine felony charges, including felonious assault, endangering children and tampering with evidence. She could face up to 23 years in prison if convicted.
WATCH: The infant's family speaks with us following Amanda Greger's court hearing
The case has devastated Bilby's family not just because of Layla's injuries, but because of who allegedly caused them. Greger wasn't just a babysitter — she was a lifelong friend of Layla's mother.
"I can personally say that I remember her and my sister playing as 5-year-old kids," Bilby said. "You would assume that you could trust somebody like that."
On Nov. 9, Greger was caring for six children — four she was babysitting, including Layla, and two of her own. Prosecutors say she began drinking vodka before midnight and combined the alcohol with THC and unprescribed muscle relaxers.
When Layla's mother returned from her third-shift job the next morning, prosecutors said she found Greger covered in blood and vomit, standing over her injured daughter. The baby allegedly had blood coming from her mouth and eyes and could not be awakened.
"There was a pretty tough prognosis. Brain bleed. That's a pretty big deal. There was a lot of spinal injury concern at the beginning ... that's not a shaken baby. That's not, 'You fell off the bed,'" Bilby said. "So hearing those things and processing that information is really, really tough."
He said the family is still grappling with the betrayal of trust.
"There was a lot of disbelief when we first heard and, you know, it was hard to process that information of understanding that someone that you would have considered a very, very close friend, that you should be able to leave your kids with and trust, has allegedly done something so terrible like this," Bilby said.
Layla's mother is a single parent of four children, Bilby said. Since the incident, she has been at the hospital around the clock with Layla.
"She works her butt off," Bilby said of his sister. "She enlists her friends and family to help babysit. She works third shift so she can spend as much time with her kids."
After two weeks in the ICU, Layla has been moved to a step-down unit and is showing signs of recovery.
"Layla is doing well. She has, at this point in time, she has started to recover," Bilby said. "By the grace of God, she's taken a step down from the ICU, so she's in a step-down unit at this point. So we're pretty hopeful that she's going to continue to progress and continue to heal."
Bilby said the family has been overwhelmed by community support, including from medical staff, law enforcement and victim advocates.
"While this is a terrible, terrible thing, we do appreciate how the community is kind of leaned in and helped," Bilby said. "Whether it be the doctors, whether it be the victim advocates or CPS, or all these people that have just engaged and jumped in, the detectives at Goshen PD, have been fantastic."
Bilby said his family wants severe consequences for Greger, who told police during interviews that she knew she was responsible for Layla's injuries and called herself a "monster."
"I do believe she knows she did it. And I do think that she does know she's a monster," Bilby said.
The family has established a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and living costs while Layla's mother remains at the hospital. Bilby said they want to ensure his sister has a home to return to when this ordeal is over.
"Our goal for that is to use those funds to help alleviate costs of living," Bilby said. "We want to keep her, and we want her home to be her home when she comes back."
Because Greger hired her own attorney before Wednesday's court hearing, Judge Kevin Miles rescheduled her arraignment for Dec. 3.
