A 17-year-old teen mother was arrested and is facing charges after one of her 5-week-old twin sons was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, authorities say.
The infant was admitted to John’s Hopkins All Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, March 20, with a skull fracture and a brain hemorrhage, reported ABC Action News.
Doctors reportedly said the baby boy’s injuries were not accidental and could only have happened from intentional abuse.
According to authorities, the teen mother, whose name won’t be released because of her age, was supposedly taking care of the infants at her grandmother’s house in Largo, Florida. The grandmother left for work on March 20 and left the twin sons with their teen mother at home. She reported no issues during the day when checking up on them.
Teen charged with child abuse after admitting to throwing child causing multiple head injurieshttps://t.co/Ws0u5dSWIC
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) March 23, 2019
However, when the grandmother returned from work and attempted to feed the infant, the boy showed signs of discomfort and refused to eat. She also noticed the boy was lethargic and she noticed the boy’s head was misshapen. She then took the infant to the hospital.
Deputies said the investigation began the next day after being notified about a 5-week-old being admitted with serious injuries.
When detectives questioned the teen mother, she gave multiple versions of what happened to the infant, which did not appear consistent with his injuries. Medical staff informed the detectives that the injuries sustained could have only come from intentional abuse and were not accidental.
Teen mother faces child abuse charge after allegedly causing 5-week-old child’s head injuries.https://t.co/w6mETyPZQf pic.twitter.com/cA19XhCn9O
— 10News WTSP (@10NewsWTSP) March 23, 2019
Eventually, the teenage mother admitted to detectives that she intentionally threw the baby onto the floor out of frustration.
While the other twin infant wasn’t injured, both remain in the hospital until they are released into foster care.
The teen was arrested and taken to the Pinellas County jail on one charge of Aggravated Child Abuse with Great Bodily Harm/Permanent Disfigurement. She was taken to the jail without incident, reported ABC Action News.
Teen mom of twins arrested after 5-week-old baby found with brain hemorrhage, skull fracture https://t.co/XiNdVQ40MF via @crimeonlinenews
— Leigh Egan (@LeighEgan) March 23, 2019
A Similar Case
A 19-year-old Arizona mother was arrested after accidentally driving with her 5-week-old son in a car seat on the roof of her car.
Catalina Clouser, 19, arrived home after smoking marijuana several times only to realize her son was missing, according to Syracuse.com.
Phoenix police officer James Holmes found the infant still strapped into his car seat in the middle of a street around 1 a.m. the next day. He said the infant was “perfectly OK,” according to Syracuse.com.
“It appears the suspect put the baby on the roof of the car and drove off, forgetting he was still on the roof,” Holmes said.
The night before, Clouser and her boyfriend were smoking marijuana in a nearby park around 11 p.m. Later, they drove off with the baby in the car to buy some beer. However, on their way there the boyfriend was pulled over and arrested on aggravated DUI charges.
AZ woman who left 5-week-old baby on roof of her car pleads guilty http://t.co/axpTHrUvfP #abc15 pic.twitter.com/fE7sjqJ9WD
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) February 24, 2014
Upset at the chain of events, Clouser took her son to a friend’s house, where she “admittedly smoked one or two additional bowls of marijuana,” Holmes said.
He said the teenage mother left a friend’s house around midnight with her son asleep in the car seat, placing him on top of the car. It wasn’t until she arrived home that she realized her son was missing.
Upon discovering her son was missing, Clouser immediately called the friend and asked for their help in retracing her route. By the time she arrived at the site where the baby was found, officers were already there. Clouser “made admissions to what had occurred,” Holmes said. She was arrested and booked into jail facing charges of child abuse and aggravated DUI.
“The officers did find that the car seat was damaged. There were scrapes on the car seat, obviously from a fall,” Holmes said. “We’re thinking that based on her possible impairment, she just didn’t realize that she had placed that baby at one o’clock in the morning on top of the car when she took off.”