Utah man charged for dousing 2 toddlers with scalding water, allegedly told cops he feels ‘kinda sad’ about it
HURRICANE, UTAH: In a horrific incident, a 24-year-old man called Austin Woolsey, a resident of Hurricane, Utah, was arrested on Tuesday, October 27, for allegedly burning two male toddlers with hot water. Woolsey currently faces two counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony, according to a probable cause affidavit.
As per news reports, the two children -- a two-year-old boy and a three-year-old boy -- were taken to a hospital in Washington County with second-degree burns that covered a large portion of their bodies. The younger one had a large burn on his left side, covering the area from under his arm, across the side of his torso, to the diaper line. The older one had burn marks on his forehead and neck. Both wounds appeared to have been caused by spilling hot liquid on them.
A Hurricane PD officer Ken Thompson told the media that the investigation into the matter began on October 2, when an unnamed individual called police to report suspicious burns on two toddlers. The caller reported that once they saw photos of the burns, they became suspicious and proceeded to notify the authorities.
As per reports, Woolsey, who at the time of the incident was watching over the kids, had told the family of the toddlers that he was walking with a cup of hot chocolate and tripped, causing the liquid to spill. Following that, they were taken to the emergency room that same night.
When cops interviewed Woosley on Tuesday, the arresting officer said Woolsey's recollection of events did not make sense. The arresting officer noted, “I could see the story Austin told me and how he described the events did not correspond to the burns.”
Following this, when asked if Woolsey intentionally put hot water on the kids and if he knew that was wrong, he reportedly responded with a "yes". Woolsey reportedly admitted to intentionally pouring hot water on the children, telling the cops that “he wanted to see what it would do,” adding that the liquid was poured on each child separately. He also reportedly poured the boiling liquid on the toddlers several times. As per the probable cause affidavit, "Austin said he learned his lesson not to do it again. I asked Austin how he learned his lesson and he replied he felt 'kinda sad'."
But there may be more than meets the eye. A family member of Woolsey’s reportedly told police officers that he has autism. But that claim has yet to be substantiated. Woolsey’s relationship with the two boys, too, has not been determined yet, and it is unclear as to what led up to the incident.
Woolsey was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and was charged the following day with two second-degree felony counts of child abuse-inflicting serious injury intentionally. He was released from custody on Wednesday, October 28. It is also so far not clear if Woolsey had an attorney. He has not spoken to media outlets as of yet. Woolsey is scheduled to make an initial appearance on December 28.