mystery
April 28th, 2010, 11:49 AM
An East Chicago toddler was reported in critical condition Tuesday at a Chicago children's hospital after suffering head injuries in a fall allegedly caused by his mother.
Lake County prosecutors charged 27-year-old Melissa Johnson on Monday with a single count of aggravated battery and multiple counts of battery and neglect of a dependent in connection with injuries inflicted on the child April 21.
Authorities said Johnson, who's also the mother of 6-year-old twin girls and is five months pregnant, admitted to slapping her 2-year-old son, Elijah Johnson, on the face at least twice before the child fell and hit his head on a coffee table.
Court records state Johnson told police she then "whipped him on his butt a couple of times, maybe too many times, then told him to get up and eat and he did."
Johnson told police that after the whipping she "went to do the dishes and left him there, telling him to take a nap because he was getting on her nerves."
Hours later, Johnson found the child "stiff" and unable to hold his cup, she told police.
The boy was taken to St. Catherine's Hospital. From there, he was transported to the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. Doctors discovered the child had suffered a subdural hemorrhage as well as multiple bruises of varying age, healed and healing lacerations to this face, contusions, multisystem trauma and a possible leg fracture, according to court records. While being evaluated, the child became nonresponsive and was placed on a ventilator.
Johnson is alleged to have told authorities it was not the first time she had whipped the child and hit him with a slipper on his buttocks and hands for not listening to her.
Johnson's boyfriend told police Johnson, who lost custody of her twin girls to her sister, has an anger problem about which he has spoken to her in the past.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_2e8e166a-731c-586b-8b39-80ce313459b3.html
Lake County prosecutors charged 27-year-old Melissa Johnson on Monday with a single count of aggravated battery and multiple counts of battery and neglect of a dependent in connection with injuries inflicted on the child April 21.
Authorities said Johnson, who's also the mother of 6-year-old twin girls and is five months pregnant, admitted to slapping her 2-year-old son, Elijah Johnson, on the face at least twice before the child fell and hit his head on a coffee table.
Court records state Johnson told police she then "whipped him on his butt a couple of times, maybe too many times, then told him to get up and eat and he did."
Johnson told police that after the whipping she "went to do the dishes and left him there, telling him to take a nap because he was getting on her nerves."
Hours later, Johnson found the child "stiff" and unable to hold his cup, she told police.
The boy was taken to St. Catherine's Hospital. From there, he was transported to the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. Doctors discovered the child had suffered a subdural hemorrhage as well as multiple bruises of varying age, healed and healing lacerations to this face, contusions, multisystem trauma and a possible leg fracture, according to court records. While being evaluated, the child became nonresponsive and was placed on a ventilator.
Johnson is alleged to have told authorities it was not the first time she had whipped the child and hit him with a slipper on his buttocks and hands for not listening to her.
Johnson's boyfriend told police Johnson, who lost custody of her twin girls to her sister, has an anger problem about which he has spoken to her in the past.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_2e8e166a-731c-586b-8b39-80ce313459b3.html