Couple Vanish During Trial Before Being Convicted For Child Abuse

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On 1 March, 2014, Kayla Fannon took her injured infant daughter to an Ohio emergency room. Police say doctors quickly determined that the 4-month-old child should be taken to the hospital.

When doctors called the police, investigators concluded that Fannon and her boyfriend, Samuel A. Thompson, had caused serious injury to their daughter over the first months of her life.

“It was found that the infant had in excess of 25 broken bones to her ribs, legs, fingers, arms, toes, shoulders and multiple skull fractures, in various stages of healing, as well as a significant brain injury,” Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said.

Their parental rights terminated, and the child was permanently placed with the Athens County Children Services. “The infant was adopted by her foster parents,” Blackburn said. “She has shown significant progress over the last two-and-a-half years.”

Fannon, 26, and Thompson, 31, were both charged with two counts each of endangering children and one count each of permitting child abuse.

The couple initially appeared in court on May 8 for their jury selection. They appeared for most of the trial, and Fannon even testified on her own behalf on May 11.

However, the next day, the defendants did not show up in court. The Judge, George McCarthy, ordered nationwide arrest warrants for both of them.

The prosecution and defense continued the trial, even though the defendants were missing.

On Wednesday, the jury found the couple guilty on all counts and they face up to 14 years in prison. The couple remains on the run.

“Kayla Fannon and Samuel Thompson will not be fully held accountable for their actions until they are arrested and brought before the court for sentencing,” Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said in a statement.

“Anyone with information as to their whereabouts is urged to contact the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office at (740) 592-3208.”