STAFF REPORT
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
A teenage mother faces two felony charges in connection to injuries to her 7-week-old infant who appeared to have “hundreds or possibly thousands of scratches” on his extremities.
Kalynn Douglas, 18, was arrested on suspicion of neglect of a dependent, a class-C felony, and battery resulting in bodily injury, a class-D felony, after Terre Haute Police were called to Union Hospital on Jan. 27 to investigate injuries on the child.
Family members allegedly told investigators that the child had been scratched by a cat, and that a puppy was found on the baby. However, a family member mentioned that the cuts might have come from a razor blade. Douglas admitted to police that she used to cut herself when she was about age 13.
The infant was transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where a doctor reported “an extraordinary number of recent linear abrasions over most of the body, front and back, though especially concentrated on the lower extremities.” The child also had a large bruise on his left hip.
Douglas was arrested Tuesday. She is scheduled to return to Vigo Superior Court 1 on March 25. Bail is set at $35,000 cash only.
