06/04/2010 // West Palm Beach, Florida, USA // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan
Miami, FL—Four people, including the mother of a 2-year-old boy, were arrested Wednesday, June 3, 2010 in connection with their failure to seek medical attention for a toddler with serious burns. According to reports from the Miami Herald, the toddler suffered the burns after a pot of boiling water was knocked off the stove, spilling onto his face and torso.
Reports indicated the young child was under the supervision of his 16-year-old aunt when the neglectful episode occurred. The boy and his aunt were allegedly in the kitchen when a pot of scorching liquid fell off the stove, severely burning the toddler.
However, nobody in the home took any steps to take the youngster to the hospital for treatment. Instead they used home remedies as a means of attempting to help the injured toddler.
The boy, who was not identified, sustained second- and third-degree burns to his face and torso during the Friday, May 28 accident.
It wasn’t until an anonymous 911-call came in, subsequently dispatching Miami police to the third-floor apartment in the 1500 block of Northwest First Place.
When officers arrived at the home at approximately 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, the toddler’s mother, 18-year-old Tahkisha Lawrence, and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Amous Jackson, greeted them with false information. They contended the boy was not in the home at the time.
By the time Miami police detectives knocked on the door for a third time, 40-year-old Audery Turnbull, the child’s grandmother, opened the door and allowed officers to see the burned boy.
According to Officer Kenia Reyes, spokesperson for the Miami Police Department (MPD), “What they saw was so… I can’t even think of the word… It was so disturbing for the officers.”
On the other hand, Jackson’s sister, 24-year-old Amie Jackson alleged, “It was an accident but I guess it’s been blown out of proportion because she didn’t take him to the hospital in a timely manner… She’s a good mother—she just made a bad decision.”
Police then arrested Lawrence, Jackson, Turnbull and the child’s aunt. They were charged with child negligence.
The boy’s aunt also allegedly stated the family had not taken the child to the hospital due to prior incident, which prompted the Florida Department of Children & Families to investigate the mother.
Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel seemingly arrived at the scene to rush the burned toddler to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He was listed in critical but stable condition Wednesday.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for Florida Criminal Lawyers.
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