FORT WORTH, Texas -- The burn marks went from the 2-year-old's head to the bottom of her feet.
What caused the burns? A curling iron, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The girl's great-grandmother, Saundra Patterson, 65, went on trial Tuesday, accused of repeatedly using the iron to burn her great-granddaughter at the family’s Haslet home in the summer of 2008.
The first- and second-degree burns covered 10 percent of the girl's body. Burn marks were even discovered in the little girl's vaginal area, according to opening day testimony by an emergency technician.
Patterson is charged with injury to a child. If convicted, she faces a maximum of life in prison and a $10,000 fine, though she would also be eligible for probation, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
The burns were discovered when Patterson, who had custody of the 2-year-old and her then-5-year-old sister, went to visit relatives on July 4, 2008, in Oklahoma City.
"Police got an anonymous call about an injured child there in Oklahoma City," Tarrant County Assistant District Keith Harris said.
When police arrived at an Oklahoma City home, 82-year-old Ruby Hill told police that there wasn't an injured child in the house. Hill is the great-great-grandmother of the 2-year-old, according to The Oklahoman.
But Oklahoma City patrol Sgt. Gregory Kennedy testified Tuesday that he searched the house and found the toddler in a bedroom.
"I picked her up as best as I could so as not to hurt her. She just had marks all over her," Kennedy said. "She didn't say a thing."
Read more at Star-Telegram.com
.jpg)
Comments