Parents arrested after malnourished toddler found with fractured skull, brain injuries
Parents of a 2-year-old boy have been arrested after the child was found to be severely malnourished with multiple broken bones all over his body.
Jade Newman, 21, and Delane Bostic, 25, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, were taken into custody after county officials say the parents brought the toddler into the hospital earlier this week, according to ABC News' Raleigh station WTVD.
Examinations on the child revealed that the toddler weight 18 pounds and had multiple fractures all over his body including skull fractures, rib fractures and injuries to the brain. Officials say the child ate his own feces as well.
WTVD went to the neighborhood in northwest Fayetteville to speak with neighbors, and while most refused to speak on camera, several claimed they would frequently see two children run out of Bostic's home unattended, sometimes running around the area naked.
One neighbor, Tay Graham, who lived two houses down from where the alleged abuse took place, said he couldn't believe the news when he heard it.
"I never looked at them like that. I never thought they would do something to a kid like that. I don't even know what to say about it. I'm glad it wasn't one of my young ones," said Graham.
Newman and Bostic were taken into custody and now face one count of intentional child abuse causing serious bodily injury. Both suspects made their first court appearance on Friday at the Cumberland Detention Center and are being held on a $250,000 bond.
The current condition of the toddler is unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
