A Casper woman will avoid prison time in a case where she was accused of breaking her baby’s arm.
Kelsey Steed was given a three-to-five year suspended prison sentence, with five years of probation, after
she entered an Alford Plea to one charge of child abuse.
Investigators with the Casper Police Department say
in August 2014, Steed took her then eight month old daughter to the hospital, because the baby could not move her right arm.
Hospital employees suspected the injuries were caused by abuse and contacted law enforcement.
A doctor told police that there were four different fractures and each one happened at different times, because they were in different stages of healing.
The doctor added that a great deal of force was needed to break the bones.
When interviewed, Steed admitted that she got frustrated with the baby on the morning of the hospital visit, saying she was stressed out and frustrated that the baby woke her up at 2 AM.
She also said she had been rough with the child, but added she did not intentionally hurt the baby.
Investigators also learned that the baby had been at the hospital two months prior for a torn esophagus, and was flown by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Denver, but the cause of that injury had not been determined.
An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence and/or testimony to get a guilty verdict from a jury, if the case had gone to trial.
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