John Jefferson
Mary Hall (Pike County Jail).
A Kentucky woman is behind bars after a boy under her care “showed signs of torture” when he suffered a broken nose and chipped teeth while he had been missing from school since the Christmas break, cops said.
Mary Hall, 42, is facing charges of first-degree child abuse, kidnapping with serious physical injury and first-degree assault, Pike County jail records show. According to a criminal complaint obtained by eastern Kentucky CBS affiliate WYMT and Mountain Top Media, the boy came to school for the first time since Christmas break on Tuesday. After school officials saw the injuries, they alerted cops who started investigating.
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The boy reportedly told cops he was riding his bike and carrying wood but would not go into specifics.
“Mary was asked about his nose and teeth. She stated that they’ve been packing wood and has been out playing. She said he could have done it in his sleep,” the complaint reportedly said.
But there were other signs of abuse. Cops reportedly noted that he appeared to be malnourished. The boy told officers he “gorges himself when he eats at school.”
“Today, he gorged himself until he got sick and vomited,” the complaint reportedly said.
Police learned the boy was “not allowed to eat at home due to discipline.” If he would eat at school, Hall often would not allow him to eat at home, the affidavit reportedly said.
“[He] was able to have a piece of cake and pizza at school, and Mary stated that he will not receive dinner since he was given this at school,” cops wrote.
Cops reportedly went to the home where they found his room to be locked from the outside with a single mattress on the floor with a lamp. His siblings were reportedly not malnourished or abused, cops reportedly said.
The boy was taken from the home and went into cardiac arrest, per cops. He was rushed to the hospital. Once there he was reportedly unable to keep down solid foods. Doctors determined he “showed signs of torture.”
Hall is at the Pike County Jail without bond.
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