Child fights for life
In a hospital bed in Memphis, a three-year-old child is fighting for her life. Her “crime” was urinating on the bed and dropping orange juice.
Jaslyn Hayes was kicked in the stomach twice by
Antonio Steven Manzi.
Manzi is charged with aggravated child abuse, which is a Class, A felony and is being held on a $150,000 bond at the Weakley County Detention Center. According to Martin Police Inv. Robbie Hatler, Manzi waived his right to legal counsel and admitted freely that he had become angry on two separate occasions causing injury to the child.
In one incident, the girl was beaten with a belt and the other one, she was kicked in the abdomen. Jaslyn was taken to Volunteer General Hospital, who contacted officers regarding bruising that had left visible injuries. She was then transported to Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis where it was determined that she was suffering from
internal bleeding and trauma. According to Capt. Randall Walker,
the girls GI tract had to be removed due to the intensive internal damage created after the beating.
According to the affidavit of complaint, Jaslyn’s physician, Dr. Karen Laykin confirmed “
the injury to the child’s abdomen was consistent with injury that would be sustained due to blunt force.” When officers brought Manzi in for questioning, he waived his right to legal counsel and provided a statement that
he had struck Jaslyn several times with a leather belt.
In a subsequent interview conducted with Manzi at WCDC, he confessed that he kicked the child twice in the lower abdomen area. Jaslyn’s mother,
Brandi L. Carrington, was also
charged with Failure to Report Child Abuse – Brutality, Neglect. After carrying her daughter to VCH, Carrington admitted that
she had been aware of the bruises for five days prior to the hospital visit and had not notified anyone about the injuries to the child’s body.
Carrington was arrested and released on a $1,000 bond. She is being represented by Martin attorney Lang Unger. Manzi admitted that Carrington was at work during the incidents and that
he was alone with the child. Jaslyn had been placed into the care of the Department of Children’s Services temporarily but is now in the custody of her father,
Jonathon Hayes. According to Hatler,
the victim has undergone two surgeries. She was in a coma last week, however, he reported that family members had told him that the
hospital has removed her catheter and she is up and responsive. The extent of the damage is still unknown. “She’s
not out of the woods yet but she is improving,” Hatler said. Walker went to Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center last Friday. He said that Jaslyn was in surgery when he got there and Hayes’ family is staying with her during her recovery. The Class A Felony for a Standard Range Offender is 15 to 25 years.
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Originally Posted by Dakota_Valkyrie
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