Detectives from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Winona Lake woman Thursday afternoon after an investigation found that she allegedly injured a 2-year-old in her care. KCSD detectives stated that Karen Marie Bartley, 35, Robson Road, Winona Lake, was arrested and preliminarily charged with neglect of a dependent/endangering life and causing serious bodily injury, a Class B felony. Kosciusko Community Hospital officials notified the sheriff’s department on Dec. 18. Detectives were told that a 2-year-old female had been brought into the emergency room suffering from instability and vomiting and was accompanied by the father and his fiancée, Bartley. The toddler was then transferred to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, where it was determined that she had suffered a skull fracture. Bartley originally told officials that the toddler had thrown a “temper tantrum,” and had repeatedly struck the back of its head against the floor. Medical officials told detectives that the injuries were not consistent with what Bartley described on that date. Bartley later admitted that she had been playing with the child on Dec. 18 and had become “overly aggressive.” Bartley is currently booked at the Kosciusko County Jail on a prosecutorial hold from the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office, who also assisted detectives with the investigation. No bond is currently set.
