RIVERSIDE — The grandmother of a Riverside infant who has been in the hospital for more than a week said she wishes she had seen signs of abuse sooner.
RELATED: Riverside child endangering: 2 arrested; man blames toddler for infant’s injuries
She told News Center 7’s Monica Castro that she doesn’t know how much longer baby James will have to be at Dayton Children’s Hospital, but that she is working to get custody of the 9-month-old boy.
“The baby had a black eye, his left eye was black. The back of his head was fractured like an egg,” Christale Morgan said of her grandson’s injuries including a fingerprint-shaped bruise on his face. “He had six broken ribs on one side, two or three on the other. His wrist was broken in another spot.”
When first responders showed up Oct. 23 to the baby’s Penn Avenue home in Riverside, James was unresponsive and Morgan said he required a breathing tube.
Hannah Jean Barnes, 20, and her boyfriend Collin Michael Hanna, 22, were arrested Monday and jailed on suspicion of child endangering, but Barnes has been released.
According to a Riverside police report, Hanna blamed the injuries on the baby’s 2-year-old sister.
Morgan said Barnes and Hanna, who is not the father of either child, have been together for about three months and that during that time Barnes would not allow her to see her grandchildren.
“When you don’t let people see your grandkids people are going to be suspicious,” she said.
She became more suspicious when she saw bruises on her 2-year-old granddaughter.
“Amora had a black eye and I kept asking why she had a black eye and she kept avoiding the question,” Morgan said.
She has court documents that show she has temporary custody of the 2-year-old. Now, she hopes to get custody of James, too, once he is allowed to leave the hospital.
“I’ll do anything I can to keep them happy and smiles and happy laughter and all that fun stuff,” she said.
While Barnes is no longer in custody, Hanna was arraigned Thursday on felony charges of child endangerment and felonious assault. His bond was lowered to $10,000 but he remains jailed. During the hearing, he told the court that he is no longer in a relationship with Barnes.
