Case advances against Oakland County man accused in shaken baby case
The case against a Springfield Township man accused of shaking his infant and nearly killing him has advanced to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.
At the conclusion of a recent preliminary exam in 52-2 District Court, Judge Kelly Kostin ruled there was probable cause to bind over the case against 32-year-old Daniel Charles Gracer, scheduled to be arraigned in the higher court on Sept. 25 by Judge Mary Ellen Brennan.

Gracer is charged with one count of first-degree child abuse in connection with the near-fatal injuries his then-2-month-old son suffered last December.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, on Dec. 23, 2024 deputies were called to a home in the 7000 block of Meadow Lane in Springfield Township on a report of an unresponsive baby. Gracer was caring for the boy at the time, the sheriff’s office said.
The baby suffered serious head and brain trauma, and a child abuse specialist who examined the baby determined the injuries were non-accidental, the sheriff’s office said. The brain injury, according to the specialist, was due to rapid acceleration and rapid deceleration, consistent with being shaken, the sheriff’s office said. The trauma was “nearly fatal,” the sheriff’s office said, and the baby is likely to have severely delayed development.
Hospital staff reportedly relayed the findings to the sheriff’s office which launched an investigation.
Gracer was released from jail in February after Kostin changed his $1 million bond to a personal bond – requiring no cash or surety to be posted.
First-degree child abuse is punishable by up to life in prison.
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