An eastern Kentucky woman has been jailed after severely burning her three-year-old son and, according to the child’s sibling, forcing him to eat his own vomit.
Jessica Chandler, 38, of Richmond, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault (domestic violence), criminal abuse of a child younger than 12 and tampering with physical evidence.
Richmond police were dispatched to Chandler’s residence on a welfare check and found the three-year-old had recently suffered untreated third-degree burns. The toddler also had a “deep laceration” on his foot, that, according to police, may have been infected.
The child was transported to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital and will require “extensive care and procedures,” according to the Richmond Register.
Chandler admitted to forcing the toddler to sit on a floor that was covered in bleach and ammonia as punishment after the child wet the bed. Furthermore, the toddler’s 12-year-old sister told police that Chandler forced the three-year-old to eat his own vomit, sit on a hot stove and stay outside during cold weather.
A day before police arrived to check on the child, the Department for Community Based Services responded to Chandler’s home, but she hid the abused child and presented the toddler’s twin brother to make it seem as though nothing was wrong, the newspaper reports.
Chandler is lodged in the Madison County Detention Center.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
