Whisper
March 14th, 2011, 09:29 PM
EDMOND — A 19-year-old Edmond woman faces a felony charge in alleged abuse that led to an infant being placed on a ventilator, police said.
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has charged Katherine D. Pasquali, 19, of Edmond, with one count of felony child abuse of a 7-week-old infant after she allegedly caused a skull fracture and subdural hematoma.
No attorney information was available for the defendant, who was released from the county jail on $10,000 bond on Feb. 11. No future court date has been scheduled yet, according to court records.
On Dec. 21, Edmond Police Detective Tommy Evans went to OU Children’s Hospital, where he was told that the victim was transported to the hospital via Mediflight from Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, according to the detective’s affidavit of probable cause.
An Integris Baptist Medical Center doctor noted suspicion for non-accidental trauma and made referral to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, police said.
An OU Children’s Hospital physician said the victim had a left skull fracture, a subdural hematoma and some type of retinal damage, according to the affidavit. The physician said there was no doubt the injuries were non-accidental, police said.
Police put the victim into protective custody, and contacted the defendant, who is the victim’s mother, police said.
On Dec. 21, during an interview with police, the defendant stated that she moved to Edmond to live with her sister in July 2010.
She stated that she became pregnant in Florida and at six weeks into the pregnancy she had an abortion, according to the affidavit. She stated that it was not until about six months into the pregnancy that she realized that she was still pregnant, police said.
On Nov. 1, the child was born healthy at Integris Baptist Medical Center, according to the affidavit. When the infant was about 3 weeks old, the baby became very fussy and cranky, the defendant stated, police said. She stated that he would cry for hours at a time.
The defendant stated that she took the baby to the hospital twice to have him checked out, according to the affidavit. Each time she was told nothing was wrong except for some intestinal issues.
When asked if anyone else living at the home caused the injuries, the defendant said no, police said. The defendant began talking about accidentally hitting the infant’s head on the door once and accidentally dropping him on the coffee table while sitting down, police said.
The detective told her those type of accidents would not cause these injuries, according to the affidavit.
The defendant became emotional and said that she shook the infant sometime between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, police said. She said he would not stop crying and she was home alone. She said after shaking him she knew that it hurt because he cried afterward, police said.
In another incident, which occurred in December, the defendant said she was going to change the baby’s diaper on the kitchen floor and she was not careful, according to the affidavit.
The defendant said she actually threw the infant to the ground and he hit his head on the tile floor, police said.
A witness told police she had thought the defendant would have a hard time being a mother, according to the affidavit.
When police asked the witness if there had been previous incidents of suspected abuse, the witness said that when the baby was about three weeks old she thought his head seemed somewhat abnormal looking, according to the affidavit. But she did not notice any bruising or marks, police said.
A few weeks ago, the witness noticed some bruising and knots on the baby’s ankles, police said. The witness said the defendant told her they were caused by some shots the infant had received.
[,..]http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x449492386/Edmond-woman-19-faces-felony-child-abuse-charge
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has charged Katherine D. Pasquali, 19, of Edmond, with one count of felony child abuse of a 7-week-old infant after she allegedly caused a skull fracture and subdural hematoma.
No attorney information was available for the defendant, who was released from the county jail on $10,000 bond on Feb. 11. No future court date has been scheduled yet, according to court records.
On Dec. 21, Edmond Police Detective Tommy Evans went to OU Children’s Hospital, where he was told that the victim was transported to the hospital via Mediflight from Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, according to the detective’s affidavit of probable cause.
An Integris Baptist Medical Center doctor noted suspicion for non-accidental trauma and made referral to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, police said.
An OU Children’s Hospital physician said the victim had a left skull fracture, a subdural hematoma and some type of retinal damage, according to the affidavit. The physician said there was no doubt the injuries were non-accidental, police said.
Police put the victim into protective custody, and contacted the defendant, who is the victim’s mother, police said.
On Dec. 21, during an interview with police, the defendant stated that she moved to Edmond to live with her sister in July 2010.
She stated that she became pregnant in Florida and at six weeks into the pregnancy she had an abortion, according to the affidavit. She stated that it was not until about six months into the pregnancy that she realized that she was still pregnant, police said.
On Nov. 1, the child was born healthy at Integris Baptist Medical Center, according to the affidavit. When the infant was about 3 weeks old, the baby became very fussy and cranky, the defendant stated, police said. She stated that he would cry for hours at a time.
The defendant stated that she took the baby to the hospital twice to have him checked out, according to the affidavit. Each time she was told nothing was wrong except for some intestinal issues.
When asked if anyone else living at the home caused the injuries, the defendant said no, police said. The defendant began talking about accidentally hitting the infant’s head on the door once and accidentally dropping him on the coffee table while sitting down, police said.
The detective told her those type of accidents would not cause these injuries, according to the affidavit.
The defendant became emotional and said that she shook the infant sometime between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, police said. She said he would not stop crying and she was home alone. She said after shaking him she knew that it hurt because he cried afterward, police said.
In another incident, which occurred in December, the defendant said she was going to change the baby’s diaper on the kitchen floor and she was not careful, according to the affidavit.
The defendant said she actually threw the infant to the ground and he hit his head on the tile floor, police said.
A witness told police she had thought the defendant would have a hard time being a mother, according to the affidavit.
When police asked the witness if there had been previous incidents of suspected abuse, the witness said that when the baby was about three weeks old she thought his head seemed somewhat abnormal looking, according to the affidavit. But she did not notice any bruising or marks, police said.
A few weeks ago, the witness noticed some bruising and knots on the baby’s ankles, police said. The witness said the defendant told her they were caused by some shots the infant had received.
[,..]http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x449492386/Edmond-woman-19-faces-felony-child-abuse-charge