amac
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John was not the biological father (shock) and the couple had just recently moved to Blanco, TX. The baby was taken to the hospital via Flight for Life yesterday and placed on life support, but sadly passed away today. Both the baby and the 2-year-old girl show signs indicative of sexual abuse and all three children show signs of chronic physical abuse.
http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/p...red-sex-physical-abuse-before-dying/174334329
The articles below are from yesterday, but contain additional info.
http://keyetv.com/news/local/blanco-county-couple-facing-charges-in-death-of-1-year-old-daughter
http://www.ksat.com/news/blanco-police-investigate-possible-child-abuse-case
http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/p...red-sex-physical-abuse-before-dying/174334329
BLANCO COUNTY, TEXAS - As law enforcement and child protective services continue to investigate the death of a Blanco toddler, the arrest affidavit for the child’s parents have revealed allegations of possible sexual abuse and other injuries the 1-year-old child suffered before dying in the hospital Thursday.
Blanco Police said the toddler’s mother, Jamie Petronella, 23, and her boyfriend John Lawrence, 24, called police Tuesday night to report the girl was unresponsive after she was allegedly injured playing with a 2-year-old sibling.
Police said when they arrived, they found the child laying in the middle of the living room floor with Lawrence attempting to perform CPR on the child. According to the arrest affidavit, police said bruises were on both sides of the child’s mouth along with a large dried wound on her face.
Police said in the arrest affidavit that Lawrence told Blanco Police Chief Mike Ritchey at the scene that a large bruise on the 1-year-old’s forehead was caused by him trying to “rub” it away in order to diminish the effects of the bruise.
The 1-year-old child was flown by helicopter to University Hospital in San Antonio. According to the arrest affidavit, the child’s treating physician said the child’s injuries were due to a cerebral hemorrhage, indicating trauma to the head.
In addition, the physician told law enforcement that the child has a spinal injury in the c5-c6 area and bruising to the face with contusions on the temple and a fracture of one arm.
According to the arrest affidavit, Child Protective Services were told by the treating physician that there were injuries that were consistent with sexual assault in the doctor’s opinion. CPS told police that the two other children, a 3-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, in Petronella and Lawrence’s care were taken to a hospital and there was evidence of sexual assault on the girl, 2, as well.
The arrest affidavit said CPS had investigated the family a few days prior to the incident after the boy suffered a broken arm.
Both Petronella and Lawrence were arrested on a charge of injury to a child through the omissions of seeking medical treatment, preventing injury or sexual assault, or by commission of the offenses.
In an affidavit seeking a search warrant regarding the case, police asked to recover DNA evidence from Lawrence. A separate affidavit showed that law enforcement is searching the home for any “instruments and implements” used to injure a child or commit “aggravated sexual assault.”
The two other children who were in the home are in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The articles below are from yesterday, but contain additional info.
http://keyetv.com/news/local/blanco-county-couple-facing-charges-in-death-of-1-year-old-daughter
A couple from Blanco County is facing child abuse charges after a 1-year-old girl is put on life support.
According to the Blanco Police Department, the young girl was found unresponsive at the home of 24-year-old John Lawrence and 23-year-old Jamie Petronella.
[...]
"The first officer there recognized there were injuries to the child's face," Blanco Police Chief Mike Ritchey said. "The lower jaw had bruising as did one side of the face."
[...]
Chief Ritchey says there appears to be signs of chronic child abuse. He also says two other children in the home were taken to a San Antonio hospital with signs of abuse.
CPS is taking custody of those two children.
Chief Ritchey says CPS were recently called to the couples home after Petronella's three year-old son broke his arm.
According to Chief Ritchey, the girl's mother and her boyfriend--who is not the girl's father--are currently expected to face injury to a child charges, which would be upgraded to capital murder if the girl dies from her injuries.
"It breaks my heart," Joyce Knoll said. "I hurt all the time because it just started life and now that life is gone. It didn't have a prayer."
Knoll saw the helicopter leave last night, but had no idea who medics were transporting to the hospital.
"I live behind where the helicopter landed," she said. "It came in fast and left quickly and we knew it was something, we just didn't know what it was until today."
[...]
"It impacts it alot," Knoll said. "We are a very close knit community and you hear about something like this. That, that baby has suffered and God knows what those other two suffered."
The Texas Rangers are taking the lead on the investigation.
http://www.ksat.com/news/blanco-police-investigate-possible-child-abuse-case
[...]
Julie Moody, a CPS spokeswoman, said the agency is filing for emergency custody of the children. Moody also said the agency had prior contact with the family, but would not elaborate.
Blanco police Chief Michael Ritchey said the first officer to arrive at an apartment complex told him, "There's something not right about this."
Ritchey said a 1-year-old girl is on life support in the intensive care unit at University Hospital Wednesday and was not expected to survive.
The baby girl suffered bruising to the side of her head, face and lower jaw, and was being treated in the living room by EMS when he arrived, Ritchey said
"It's just horrific. It's hard to deal with when you see that 1-year-old lying on the floor," Ritchey said.
He said two other children, a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, were in a bedroom.
"They knew something happened, but they didn't know exactly what," Ritchey said.
Those two children were also hospitalized with suspicious injuries, Ritchey said. He said the boy suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and had bruising all over his head. The girl also had bruises and other injuries.
[...]
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