An Oklahoma woman who once advertised herself as a babysitter on Facebook is now serving two life sentences after a child in her care died and another was seriously injured.
Holly Sheppard, 29, was handed her first life sentence in connection with a 2023 child ab*se case. During that case, authorities began reviewing a 2018 incident in which a 22-day-old infant died while under Sheppard’s care. Sheppard was charged with the newborn’s murder in June 2025 and later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Second Life Sentence for Child Ab*se
On Wednesday, Sheppard received another life sentence with the possibility of release after 35 years. Law&Crime reports that she used Facebook to promote her babysitting services in 2018, when she was hired to care for a newborn. The baby was taken to the hospital with “non-accidental abusive head trauma” and died a few days later. At the time, no charges were filed.
2023 Babysitting Incident
Five years later, Sheppard continued using Facebook to find babysitting work. In June 2023, she was hired to care for a 2-month-old baby. The child was taken to the hospital with internal bleeding. Sheppard reportedly gave multiple conflicting stories about how the injury occurred.
Sheppard was arrested in 2024 and accepted a blind plea for child ab*se. Fortunately, the 2-month-old survived.
Reopening the 2018 Case
Authorities noticed similarities between the 2023 and 2018 cases, which prompted them to reopen the earlier investigation. This led to Sheppard being charged with first-degree murder for the death of the 22-day-old infant while she was already serving her life sentence for the 2023 child ab*se case.
Current Status
Holly Sheppard is now serving two life sentences at the Oklahoma County Detention Center.
