MONROE, Mich. – On Wednesday, Michigan State Police arrested a Monroe woman wanted by Florida authorities for criminal neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, failure to report aggravated abuse, and culpable negligence expose injury.
These charges stem from an incident that occurred in Ormond Beach, Florida, on June 12, 2019. First responders were called to the home for a report of a child having difficulty breathing. Paramedics transported a five-month-old infant to a local hospital where it was pronounced dead.
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Police investigators interviewed the father who admitted to losing his temper when the child would not stop crying. The father stated that he purposely dropped the child on his head from a standing position and then picked it up from the floor by the head before propping the child against a pillow on the bed. The father left the room and went outside to smoke a cigarette, but the child began to cry again. The father returned to the room and struck the child across the face before picking the child up over his head and slamming the infant onto a changing table causing the fatal injuries.
The woman arrested in Monroe is the mother of the child and was working during this incident. An autopsy revealed that the five-month-old infant had multiple injuries in different stages of healing including cigarette burns to the child’s ears.
Authorities charged the father with first degree murder and determined that the mother who shared the home had knowledge of the abuses suffered by the infant throughout his life.
MSP fugitive team members were accompanied by two Florida detectives when the female was arrested without incident at her job in Monroe.
This is the woman’s second child to die under suspicious circumstances. Extradition procedures are currently underway to return the woman to Florida.
First responders in Florida stated that the residence was in unlivable conditions due to filth, urine, and dog feces throughout the home. Five dogs were later removed from the home. Detectives from the Ormond Beach Police stated that this is the most heinous crime they have ever investigated.
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