Tragedy struck when the body of a lifeless toddler was pulled from a pond in a suburban Boca Raton development on Sunday afternoon according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Teri Barbera, who’s the director of public information for the sheriff’s office, said that detectives are investigating the events that led to the child ending up in the pond.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crews were called to the Meadow Lakes at Boca Raton development just before 2 p.m. on Sunday after getting a report of a missing child.
Divers later found the child in a pond behind the home and took the toddler to a local hospital, according to Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Fire Rescue.
Couple Too High On Meth To Take Baby Suffering From Severe Burns To Hospital
The parents of a baby who was reportedly burned over 40-percent of her body have been sentenced to prison, after they failed to seek medical care for the baby.
“(The girl) stated the infant was in the sink under the running water, and she said she turned off what she thought was the hot water. However, she accidentally turned off the cold water and the infant was accidentally burned,” Ada Police Detective Brian Engel stated in an affidavit.
According to KXII, police said that the water hit 145-degrees.
The teenage girl told her mother, who then called the infant’s parents, 25-year-old Patrick Edward Eddy and 26-year-old Candace Mercedes Matthews.
Eddy and Matthews later picked up the child and took her home.
The following day, the family friend went to check on the baby, an affidavit states. The woman walked into the home and found the baby crying.
“(The woman) stated on arrival she observed the infant to be in a bed crying, and she stated the infant’s diaper was full of urine and feces,” Engel said in the affidavit. “
(The woman) stated (Eddy and Matthews) were asleep in a bed next to the infant. (The woman) stated she then observed the burn on the infant’s stomach, and she stated the injury looked ‘awful’. (The woman) stated she woke up (Matthews) and asked her if she wanted her to take the infant to the hospital.”
The woman later took the infant to a hospital, where she was then flown to an Oklahoma City hospital to be treated for her severe burns.
Sadly, the infant suffered first- and second-degree burns over 40-percent of her body.
“If we hadn’t got her help, she could’ve laid there and died,” LaCretia McDow said.
According to the affidavit, the parents, Eddy and Matthews, admitted that they did not take the child to the hospital because they were high on methamphetamine and were unaware of the extent of the baby’s injuries.
The affidavit also mentions the parents had no idea their child had been flown to an Oklahoma City hospital for treatment and were sleeping when officers arrived to question them about the infant’s burns.
The infant was later sent to a burn center in Arkansas to recover.
Officials said that the baby survived her injuries. She remains in state custody.
Eddy and Matthews have arrested for child neglect.
This week, the couple took a plea deal and have sentenced to 10 years in prison.