3-month-old Indiana girl dies with fractured bones and burn marks on her body, mother arrested
Sarah Ann Styhl, a 32-year-old mother from Muncie, Indiana, was arrested for the death of her three-month-old daughter, Shae Anna Marie Styhl. According to a report by The Star Press, the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital pronounced the child dead on Saturday, June 8. The mother and the child were staying at the local YWCA from where the child was taken to the hospital.
On Saturday, at about 10.45 in the morning, Sarah reported to staff members at the YWCA that her child was unresponsive. Paramedics were called in who transported the infant to the hospital where the child was declared dead. In a shocking report, witnesses and nurses told the police that the child "had what appeared to be burns covering most parts of her body."
Police authorities revealed that the baby's right upper arm was wrapped in a bandage and an officer reported that the skin was peeling off the child's body, including her face. Amy Kesler, a Muncie Police Department investigator, presented a report in which she wrote that "The child also appeared malnourished." The post-mortem of the child revealed signs of "extensive skeletal trauma" and she also had bone fractures in her arms and legs.
A search conducted in the room in which Sarah was staying revealed two bottles of burn spray, along with several diaper rash ointments and Icy Hot patches, according to authorities. When she was interviewed by investigators, the mother said that she used "several different ointments and lotions" for "irritation around the baby’s mouth and face". But she insisted that she knew nothing about the other injuries on the child's body.
The Delaware County Coroner Rick Howell said that the exact cause of death would not be revealed until forensic tests have been completed. County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman declined to comment on the cause of death as well saying he had "no comment on cause and manner of death as the final autopsy report has yet to be issued." He also said that "Investigators with the Muncie Police Department are working tirelessly through the weekend gathering information and evidence."
Currently, Sarah is being held in the Delaware County jail on a $50,000 bond. Preliminarily, she has been charged with neglect of a dependent which resulted in death.