'One Of The Most Violent Cases Of Child Abuse': Shaler Twp. Mother Now Faces Felony Charges
SHALER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - A Shaler Township mother is facing felony charges for allegedly abusing her child in "one of the most violent cases" Children's Hospital doctors have seen.
Katie Easley is now facing charges alongside father Jamie Easley for the alleged abuse of their newborn daughter, who was admitted to UPMC Children's Hospital with severe injuries in September.
According to police, the 4-week-old girl was taken to Children's Hospital after her primary care doctor found multiple bruises on her face and abdomen.
The child's mother allegedly told the doctor the little girl had not eaten in nearly two days.
At the hospital, doctors found the girl had skull fractures, subdural hemorrhages, 19 rib fractures and other fractures to her left arm and her legs. She was admitted in critical condition to the hospital's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
According to the criminal complaint, Jamie told investigators during a police interview that the baby's older sibling pulled her off a bed. However, doctors said a fall from a bed would not cause the kind of injuries she had.
Police say Jamie later told them he grabbed the baby girl by the arm while she was crying, held her up, squeezed her and gave her "a quick shake." Soon after, the baby stopped crying.
Now, police are charging Katie with a felony endangering the welfare of children. The criminal complaint accuses Katie of not taking her critically injured baby to the hospital until the 31-day-old newborn stopped eating all together.
It also says detectives later searched Katie's phone history and allegedly found Google searches from earlier in the month including "bruising on baby" and "why isn't my baby eating?"
Police say Children's Hospital doctors said "given the age of the victim, it was one of the most violent cases of child abuse they have seen, bone in arm completely snapped in half, and the worst rib fractures they have seen."
KDKA's Meghan Schiller reports charges against Jamie still stand. Katie was released on non-monetary bond and is slated to go before the judge for her preliminary hearing on Dec. 19.
