Police: Mother of murdered Florida baby did not prevent abuse
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- The mother of a Florida baby believed dead didn't intervene as the child's father repeatedly struck him, according to police.
Florida authorities last week said they think they have found the body of 9-week-old Chance Walsh, who has been missing since Sept. 9, buried in North Port, a central Florida city near the state's Gulf coastline.
His parents, Kristen Bury and Joseph Walsh, were arrested on Florida child abuse charges in South Carolina. Bury was later charged with first degree murder, and Walsh was charged Tuesday with first-degree felony murder, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities say they became involved when Chance's grandmother called them Oct. 4, concerned about the baby's well-being.
Arrest documents say Bury told investigators where they could find the baby's body, reports the station. A body believed to be the infant was discovered Thursday in a dense, wooded area about 13 miles from the child's home.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Bury told investigators that the infant had died Sept. 16 at their North Port home. That morning, she said, she and Walsh got into an argument. Walsh, she said, began repeatedly hitting the child, at one point telling her he was going to bash the child's head into the ground, according to the affidavit.
According to the document, Bury told Walsh, "You are going to break his f***ing neck." However, police say the woman didn't call 911 or attempt to prevent Walsh from hurting the boy.
Walsh, the boy's father, allegedly told police Bury told him she didn't want to call dispatchers because she didn't want to lose both people she loves in the same day, according to the affidavit, which is partially redacted.
The child was placed in his crib after his death and left to decompose, according to the document. Bury allegedly told Walsh that the smell was overwhelming and he had to do something with the body. Walsh then allegedly wrapped the infant's decomposing remains in numerous garbage bags and placed him in the closet of the bedroom.
On Sept. 25, the two allegedly dug a shallow grave, and later brought the child's body there in their car and buried him. According to the affidavit, Bury told police Walsh was wearing blue "hospital gloves" as he dug the hole, but the gloves were damaged by the shovels and fragments were likely left behind.
The two then drove to South Carolina on Sept. 27 and were involved in a car crash in Hardeeville. When asked why they left Florida, Walsh allegedly said they were going to start a new life somewhere else.
According to CBS affiliate WTSP, investigators say the two gave various conflicting accounts of what happened to the child -- that he was ok; that he died in a car crash; and that they gave him away.
Records show a cadaver dog alerted authorities to possible human remains at the family's North Port apartment. There they found blood on the bed, and the walls, door, mirror and light in the bathroom, the station reports.
The couple has since been extradited back to Florida.
On Oct. 15, according to the affidavit, Bury led investigators to the location in North Port where a decomposed child's body was discovered, covered only in a diaper. Investigators also discovered a fragment of a blue surgical glove inside the grave, the affidavit says.
Walsh is being held on a $150,000 bond for the child neglect charge.