Mother Accused Of Fracturing Son's Skull, Puncturing His Foot With Toothpicks
CHICAGO (STMW) -- The mother of an 11-month-old boy hospitalized with skull fractures and a broken clavicle last week has been charged with multiple counts of felony child abuse.
Michelle Feliciano, 23, of the 5400 block of North Monitor Avenue, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a child causing permanent disability, one count of aggravated battery to a child causing great bodily harm and misdemeanor endangering the life and health of a child, according to police News Affairs.
Family members were watching the child for the mother at a home in the 5400 block of North Monitor Avenue April 15 when they noticed the boy was acting lethargic, and called for an ambulance about 5 p.m. when the boy would not wake up, police said.
Witnesses in the house told police the boy was limp in his walker and could not hold his head up. They said the day before, early April 14, the boy was crying and screaming nonstop after burning his hand, which his mother said happened after he touched a portable heater.
The boy was initially taken to Resurrection Medical Center but was transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where hospital staff notified police that the child might have been abused.
The boy had suffered multiple skull fractures, bleeding on the brain and a broken clavicle, police said. He also had serious puncture wounds on the bottom of his left foot from toothpicks and the burn to his hand.
The mother told police she was frustrated when she pulled the baby out of his crib with such force that it fractured his left clavicle, and police said that in "another bout of frustration" she poked her son's foot with toothpicks, causing severe wounds.
Feliciano was in bond court Thursday and was ordered held on $900,000. Additional court information was not immediately available Sunday morning.
Police said she has a young daughter, around 3 or 4 years old, that is in the care of an aunt.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
