A 4-month-old baby ended up in an Ohio hospital with broken ribs, a brain bleed and other injuries that doctors say weren’t accidental, leading authorities to arrest the parents.
According to the Sandusky Register, 24-year-old Devin M. Mims was arrested on felonious assault charges and two counts of child endangering. Sondra Vanwhy, 19, was arrested on one count of child endangering.
The Sandusky Police were summoned to the Firelands Regional Medical Center on Feb. 8 regarding suspicious injuries on a baby.
Authorities transferred the child to Cleveland hospital to be treated for her severe injuries in the pediatrics department.
When questioned by the police, the parents said they didn’t know how their child got the injuries. But Mims turned around and said that her rib fractures could’ve been because he was rough while tickling her.
But the detective countered his statement saying tickling wouldn’t have caused that much damage.
Vanwhy informed police that they brought the unnamed child to the emergency room because she started choking while she fed her.
The baby’s breathing halted for about 10 seconds until she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, she cried nonstop.
Detectives asked if their baby had fallen, and Mims confessed to unintentionally dropping her from her “bouncer,” which detectives discovered was a baby rocker.
Despite their testimony, an admitting doctor from Cleveland hospital confirmed to police that the baby’s injuries weren’t accidental.
The doctors discovered that the child had broken ribs, subdural hematomas (brain bleeds), leg and wrist fractures, chronic feeding disorder, oral aversion and seizure-like activity.
Police placed Mims and Vanwhy in the Erie County Jail. The father has an $80,000 bond, and the mother has a $20,000 bond.
As for the baby girl, she’s in Erie County children’s services custody.
“This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I have seen,” Sandusky police Chief Jared Oliver said.
