Indiana woman holds baby's face against running treadmill, burns her neck and arms with lighter for crying
MUNCIE, INDIANA: A woman from Indiana was arrested after she admitted to burning her friend's infant daughter with a lighter and holding the baby's face against a treadmill while it was running, according to police. The woman, identified as 20-year-old Amber Nicole Vannatter, of Fort Waynes, is now facing three counts of battery and three counts of neglect of a dependent after allegedly admitting to the abuse, WXIN cited court documents as saying.
An investigation into the case was launched last week on Friday, August 14, after police officers responded to a possible child abuse case at a hospital in Muncie. The child's mother reportedly told the authorities that Vannatter had been watching her daughter while she had gone to work. The baby, who is nearly a year old, was dropped off at her mother's workplace late on August 14 with friction burns on her face and torso. There were also burns on her body, which was caused by a cigarette lighter, according to the Muncie Star Press.
When questioned by authorities, Vannatter later admitted to the crime, saying she abused the child "because she was depressed and the baby was crying," Muncie Police Det. Kris Swanson revealed. She had initially given conflicting accounts to the officers about how the child got injured, she later admitted to her crimes during an interview with police officers. Vannatter told them that she held the girl's face against a treadmill as it was running and burned her on the neck and arms with a cigarette letter when the infant was crying, court documents state. The 20-year-old was subsequently arrested on Saturday, August 15.
Vannatter also confessed to burning the child on two separate incidents. However, she denied hitting her. The little girl also suffered a broken wrist and was treated in an emergency department before being released. It was reported that the child would possibly have scarring from the injuries inflicted on her. Vannatter, meanwhile, remained in custody at a Delaware County jail on Tuesday, August 18, and her bond has been set at $60,000, according to online records. It is not yet clear whether she has an attorney to represent her.
In a similar case, a man from Britain was found guilty of torturing a baby girl by twisting her arms and legs back and leaving her with injuries similar to those expected in an adult involved in a car crash. Stephen Foster, 32, of Insworke Place, Millbrook, was imprisoned earlier this year in February. The Plymouth Crown Court heard how Foster broke the arms and ribs of the five-month-old infant in two separate attacks, squeezing her so hard he broke three of her ribs.
The court was also told how Foster "grotesquely manipulated" the child's arms and legs by putting her left leg backward underneath her body and pulling one of her arms behind her leg. The infant's injuries came to light after her mother called 999 because the infant would not stop crying. A full examination at the hospital revealed the child's multiple injuries.