It's a crime that is baffling everyone who hears about it of a woman who scratched several babies on purpose. INSIDE EDITION has the shocking story.
She's a mother of three and a prominent real estate agent in the beautiful oceanfront town of La Jolla, California.
So why would a pillar of the community do something as monsterous as scratching innocent babies and making them cry in pain?
Lainie said, "She is a predator against the most innocent, helpless babies."
Another resident, Kelly, said, "It was child after child after child."
46-year-old Lisa Hench broke down and sobbed as the babies' outraged parents spoke at her sentencing this week for child abuse.
Kelly said, "The most upsetting part is, she does it right in front of the mother."
The evidence photos show scratches that Hench admits inflicting on eight different babies.
Lainie Carswell thought Hench was just being friendly when she asked if she could hold her baby girl Jorry. Later she discovered the disturbing scratches on her baby's feet.
"She went out of her way to hold Jorry, only to tear the skin from her toe, gouge her feet," said Carswell.
Kelly Frederick's 18-month-old son had his ears scratched when Hench pretended to play with him.
"His ears were red, he was screaming and when I picked him up to go back to our conversation, he didn't want to go back to her," said Frederick.
What makes this even stranger is that Hench has three children of her own and none of them have ever been scratched. Since her arrest, she's been undergoing psychiatric treatment and sobbed as she addressed the judge, saying, "I'm truly, truly sorry."
Then she turned to the parents and apologized, saying, "Having my own children makes me feel even worse for what I did because I wouldn't want someone to do that to my children."
But the judge showed no mercy and sentenced her to two years in jail. He also ordered all her psychiatric records sealed.
Patrick O'Neil, Deputy District Attorney said, "This is a very bizarre case. I don't think there's a good reason why she did it. And it's not something we'll probably ever have a very good answer for."
That's something the babies' parents are struggling to understand—how anyone could do such a cruel, senseless act.
Hench will serve four years probation when she's released from prison. The babies are all now healed and doing well.
