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Last updated on Wednesday, September 27, 2017
(WORTHINGTON) - A Worthington woman was arrested after police say she bathed an infant in extremely hot water causing blisters.
Police arrested 25-year-old Justine Daugherty on two felony charges of child neglect resulting in bodily injury. She posted a $2,000 cash bond and was released from jail. Her initial hearing scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in Greene Circuit Court.
The child suffered first and second degree burns, a hematoma right parietal (bleeding between the scalp and the skull) and swelling to the right side of the upper skull area.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the mother of the child left the infant in the care of Daugherty on August 8th.
The mother told police she received a text message from Daughtery saying the infant was running a fever. The mother told Daughtery to give the infant a bath to help bring the fever down. Daughtery denied having that conversation with the mother.
At short time later, Daugherty texted and sent photos, saying the infant's legs and feet had turned purple.
The pictures showed the infant's legs and feet were swollen and red and there were blisters on the infant's feet.
The child was taken to Monroe County Hospital where Dr. John Bruder told police the "dipping burns" were caused by placing the infant in a hot tub or basin.
Daugherty told police during two different interviews she believed two other children in the home must have turned the water to hot while running the bath. But then on Sept. 6th Daugherty told police she couldn't figure out how the infant got burned because she had also placed another child in the same water and they were not burned.
The mother told police Daugherty told her about the head injury on Aug. 8th. The mother says Daugherty texted she had "chucked a toy at his head on accident." When questioned by police, Daugherty told police she didn't throw the toy, it was "just bad wording."
Daugherty told a caseworker at the Department of Child Services the infant was injured at a friend's house when he fell against a fire pit. But the friend told officials the fall never took place at her home.
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