Police File Charges Against Parents Due To Injuries To 10 Month Old Baby
CHICAGO (CBS) - Griffith Police say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding extensive injuries to a 10-month-old boy.
The baby is in the hospital in critical condition with serious internal and external injuries.
Medical personnel say the child was repeatedly abused and it appears there was no medical care sought to treat the injuries, which could have been life-threatening.
According to Griffith Police, the injuries include rib fractures, abdominal trauma, extensive retinal hemorrhages, upper leg fractures, injuries indicative of "Shaken Baby Syndrome," and bruising consistent with being 'grabbed.'
Police say the child's parents were arrested for child neglect.
The boy's parents, 24-year-old Cashmere Jones and 31-year-old Rebekah Davis were taken into custody Thursday, May 10.
Griffith Police say they were notified by Child Protective Services on May 7th that they were called to Munster Community Hospital, where the boy was taken by his parents for an episode that happened earlier at their Griffith home.
According to a pres release by the Griffith Police Department, the Munster Community Hospital staff determined the child needed to be transported to the Trauma Unit at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital due to a number of injuries throughout his body.
Neither parent admitted to any abuse of the child.
Police say the parents stated that an obvious bruise on the child's jaw was due to hitting himself with a rattle and stated that the child may have suffered injuries months ago when falling off of a bed or sleeping on his bottle.
According to a press release, doctors specializing in child abuse indicated the statements made by the parents were inconsistent with the injuries they observed on the child. Doctors say the child had multiple injuries in different stages of healing, indicating the child suffered several injuries over a period of time.
When the parents were speaking about the event that caused them to bring the baby to the hospital, police say Jones never attempted to call 911, but was administering CPR for about 45 minutes. He then says he called Davis who told him to take the baby to the baby's grandfather who was present in the home, and then the family took the baby to the hospital.
Detectives say they tried questioning the parents again after taking them into custody. They say Davis declined to speak to detectives without a lawyer and Jones gave some statements inconsistent with ones previously made. Both were transported to the Lake County Jail.
The Griffith Police Department says four other children by a different father were living at the home at the time and have since been removed by Child Protective Services. There is no indication of abuse or neglect in the other children.
This case is under investigation by Griffith Police and Child Protective Services.