Fla. mom accused of branding daughters

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. - A 23-year-old southwest Florida woman has been arrested for allegedly branding her two young children, reports CBS affiliate WINK.

Kayla Oxenham is charged with child abuse after an initial report was made to the Department of Children and Families on March 26 that she burned her children - both girls under the age of 8 - with a stick at their grandmother's house, according to the station. She was arrested on Wednesday.

The arrest report states Oxenham grabbed one child by the hair and slammed her head into the wall several times before kicking her, according to the children. That same week in March, the report alleges she burned her children, saying she "forgot how much she loved fire."

The children said their mother used a lighter to light the stick on fire and then touched it to their arms, the report states. They said she did it so she could identify them as her children.

"Mortified that someone would do that," neighbor Jessica Nystrom told WINK. "Then come to find out that it is my neighbor - that's insane."

A medical examination of the two kids revealed marks consistent with burn injuries, according to the station. The Department of Children and Families said the children have been removed from their mother's care and placed with the father of the youngest child.

Oxenham got out of jail on $15,000 bond.