3 Face Charges After Police Find Child Hurt, Malnourished
April 23, 2018 at 7:09 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Rune Star Springer, 24, of 1359 W. CR 800S, #103, Claypool, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 2:23 a.m. Friday for neglect of a dependent with serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony. Her preliminary bond was set at $20,250.
Travis Wayne Tillotson, 38, of 1200 N. Main St., Apt. 103, Nappanee, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 1:31 a.m Friday for neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony. His preliminary bond was set at $20,250.
Jammy Stacy, Etna Green, is charged in a warrant with neglect of dependent, a level three felony. Bond will be set at $200,000 surety and $250 cash.
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At 9:16 p.m. March 2, Nappanee Police responded to a child in need of service at 1200 N. Main St., Apt. 103, Nappanee. Officers arrived to find a child who was in need of medical attention, according to court documents. Officers identified the mother as Springer.
Springer told officers she did not cause the injuries to the child and that the child had been in the care of another woman, Stacy, for about a year. Stacy dropped the boy off at Springer’s house on March 1 with visible injuries over his body.
Springer said she did not call the police immediately because Stacy told her not to contact the police because they would both be arrested for child abuse. The boy was taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne for treatment.
The woman has not been arrested and charged as of this morning.
Officers spoke with Tillotson who said it was the first time he had seen the child in over a year. He was shocked to see the injuries to the child, but didn’t take him to a doctor for medical treatment because Stacy had told them they would all be arrested.
Tillotson said he told Stacy that the child was very thin and Stacy said the doctors said he was healthy. He said anyone who looked at the child would know he was in bad shape. He said he wanted to take the boy in for medical treatment but Springer convinced him not to and he agreed with her. He told Springer that if Stacy did not come and pick him up she should call police.
Parkview medical staff said the child had visible injuries in many stages of healing, showing injuries occuring over an extended period of time. He had multiple pieces of scalp missing, ranging from a half inch to 2 inches. His septum on his nose had been cut totally and was starting to heal; what appeared to be fingernails dug into his left cheek were scabbed over; skin was missing from the bridge of his nose and scabbed over; his arms were broken in multiple places in different stages of healing; arm sockets were broken and the child was unable to raise his hands over his shoulders; his teeth were broken from trauma; his lower lip had been cut deep and was almost healed, leaving scarring; and he was extremely underweight and had hematomas to the head and critically low blood labs. The child also was malnourished.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputy Kevin Gelbaugh spoke with a doctor who said the child’s injuries were life-threatening and caused by someone and they were not accidental by nature. The doctor said injuries to the child appeared to range from several months old to a few days old. The doctor said if the child had not gotten treatment, he would have died within 48 hours. By the totality of the injuries, he said the injuries were not self-inflicted but persistent with prolonged child abuse.
The doctor also said the broken bones in the child’s arms appear to be less than six months old, and the nose and scalp injuries are less than a few days old. He said the child had several head injuries that caused bleeding on the brain and are life-threatening.
Gelbaugh learned during the investigation that the child had been brought back to his biological mother – Springer – and stepfather – Tillotson – at Tillotson’s Nappanee residence on March 1 by the woman.
Officers conducted interviews with the child, Springer, Stacy and the woman’s mother, Annette Priestly, and determined that Springer had taken the child to Stacy in October to live with her. The child lived with Stacy while Springer would come to Stacy’s residence for an occassional visit, with the last being in December.
Gelbaugh spoke with Stacy who said she was the sole caregivier for the child from October to March 1. She said the child would stay the night on occassion with her aunt, Robinette, and also said she had visited Priestly regularly in that time. She said she knew she should have gotten the child medical attention for his injuries and would have if the injuries would have been to her own son.
Stacy provided her cell phone number and gave officers consent to search the phone. In photographs on the phone, which were date stamped, they show injuries to the child were sustained in the time period that Stacy said she was the sole caregiver. The time stamps also show that Priestly and Robinette would have had contact with the child in the time his injuries were visible and in his state of malnourishment.
Rune Star Springer, 24, of 1359 W. CR 800S, #103, Claypool, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 2:23 a.m. Friday for neglect of a dependent with serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony. Her preliminary bond was set at $20,250.
Travis Wayne Tillotson, 38, of 1200 N. Main St., Apt. 103, Nappanee, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 1:31 a.m Friday for neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony. His preliminary bond was set at $20,250.
Jammy Stacy, Etna Green, is charged in a warrant with neglect of dependent, a level three felony. Bond will be set at $200,000 surety and $250 cash.
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At 9:16 p.m. March 2, Nappanee Police responded to a child in need of service at 1200 N. Main St., Apt. 103, Nappanee. Officers arrived to find a child who was in need of medical attention, according to court documents. Officers identified the mother as Springer.
Springer told officers she did not cause the injuries to the child and that the child had been in the care of another woman, Stacy, for about a year. Stacy dropped the boy off at Springer’s house on March 1 with visible injuries over his body.
Springer said she did not call the police immediately because Stacy told her not to contact the police because they would both be arrested for child abuse. The boy was taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne for treatment.
The woman has not been arrested and charged as of this morning.
Officers spoke with Tillotson who said it was the first time he had seen the child in over a year. He was shocked to see the injuries to the child, but didn’t take him to a doctor for medical treatment because Stacy had told them they would all be arrested.
Tillotson said he told Stacy that the child was very thin and Stacy said the doctors said he was healthy. He said anyone who looked at the child would know he was in bad shape. He said he wanted to take the boy in for medical treatment but Springer convinced him not to and he agreed with her. He told Springer that if Stacy did not come and pick him up she should call police.
Parkview medical staff said the child had visible injuries in many stages of healing, showing injuries occuring over an extended period of time. He had multiple pieces of scalp missing, ranging from a half inch to 2 inches. His septum on his nose had been cut totally and was starting to heal; what appeared to be fingernails dug into his left cheek were scabbed over; skin was missing from the bridge of his nose and scabbed over; his arms were broken in multiple places in different stages of healing; arm sockets were broken and the child was unable to raise his hands over his shoulders; his teeth were broken from trauma; his lower lip had been cut deep and was almost healed, leaving scarring; and he was extremely underweight and had hematomas to the head and critically low blood labs. The child also was malnourished.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputy Kevin Gelbaugh spoke with a doctor who said the child’s injuries were life-threatening and caused by someone and they were not accidental by nature. The doctor said injuries to the child appeared to range from several months old to a few days old. The doctor said if the child had not gotten treatment, he would have died within 48 hours. By the totality of the injuries, he said the injuries were not self-inflicted but persistent with prolonged child abuse.
The doctor also said the broken bones in the child’s arms appear to be less than six months old, and the nose and scalp injuries are less than a few days old. He said the child had several head injuries that caused bleeding on the brain and are life-threatening.
Gelbaugh learned during the investigation that the child had been brought back to his biological mother – Springer – and stepfather – Tillotson – at Tillotson’s Nappanee residence on March 1 by the woman.
Officers conducted interviews with the child, Springer, Stacy and the woman’s mother, Annette Priestly, and determined that Springer had taken the child to Stacy in October to live with her. The child lived with Stacy while Springer would come to Stacy’s residence for an occassional visit, with the last being in December.
Gelbaugh spoke with Stacy who said she was the sole caregivier for the child from October to March 1. She said the child would stay the night on occassion with her aunt, Robinette, and also said she had visited Priestly regularly in that time. She said she knew she should have gotten the child medical attention for his injuries and would have if the injuries would have been to her own son.
Stacy provided her cell phone number and gave officers consent to search the phone. In photographs on the phone, which were date stamped, they show injuries to the child were sustained in the time period that Stacy said she was the sole caregiver. The time stamps also show that Priestly and Robinette would have had contact with the child in the time his injuries were visible and in his state of malnourishment.
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