A Louisiana woman and her boyfriend have been arrested after doctors found a toddler had broken bones, a skull hematoma and bleeding in both eyes, injuries the mother allegedly tried to explain away with a sippy cup and dog urine, police said.
Zoe Wagenhurst, 25, and Christian Griffin, 21, face felony charges of second-degree cruelty to juveniles, according to arrest warrant affidavits obtained by WAFB. Wagenhurst’s daughter was admitted to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital on Oct. 16 with multiple injuries.
Doctors found a broken bone in the girl’s left upper arm and a fracture in her left leg that had already begun to heal. They also found a hematoma on top of her skull and hemorrhages in the retinas of both eyes. Investigators believe the injuries happened between Oct. 5 and Oct. 16.
Wagenhurst told investigators the bruises on her daughter’s face came from the child “sleeping with her sippy cup in her bed, as well as her slipping on their dog’s urine and hitting her face on the floor,” according to the affidavits. She allegedly said she did not know how the hematoma formed and only noticed it the morning of her police interview.
Griffin gave a similar account of the facial bruises, blaming them on the toddler sleeping with toys and her sippy cup, the affidavits say.
The couple said the girl hurt her arm during a playdate, when she fell while ripping a toy away from another 2-year-old. Griffin claimed the child never cried afterward, while Wagenhurst said they realized something was wrong only when they heard her crying in another room.
The other child’s mother told investigators the girl already had bruises when she arrived for the playdate. She also said she did not believe the victim had been hurt during an interaction with her own child, according to the affidavits.
Both Wagenhurst and Griffin allegedly acknowledged seeing the girl’s arm swell and bruise and knowing she was in pain. Griffin told detectives that at one point during the previous week, the girl could not lift her arm above her shoulder, the affidavits say. Police say neither adult sought professional medical care for her.
Court documents state the couple lives with the toddler in an apartment on Highland Road in Baton Rouge, and that Griffin regularly looks after the child while Wagenhurst is at work.
Both suspects were being held at the East Baton Rouge Parish jail. Bond had not been set as of Monday.