KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | Abused three-year old girl improving at Sacred Heart

Abused three-year old girl improving at Sacred Heart

ST. MARIES, Idaho - Sacred Heart doctors said Friday that the health of a three-year old victim of extreme child abuse is improving, and have upgraded her condition from critical to serious.

She was brought to the hospital Tuesday with injuries from abuse described by North Idaho authorities as more severe than any they've have seen in recent years.

Information from a search warrant released Thursday revealed more graphic information on the shocking case of abuse.

During court testimony, a deputy who drove the girl to the hospital with her parents recalled she had serious scarring on her bottom, her scalp was pulled up and her hair was almost completely gone. He said she had dead tissue all over her extremities and her feet were so bruised it looked like she was wearing black socks.

When initially questioned the girl's parents denied any abuse, saying she'd simply gotten sick and later saying the girl fell in the bathtub and hit her head.

While searching the little girl's room, authorities found a diaper with blood on it, a bloody pillow and blanket in her crib, rubber gloves and a syringe, and a bloody spot on the floor.

26-year old Christina Haynes and 29-year old Charles Smith were arraigned in Benewah County Wednesday, and are charged with Felony Injury to a Child. A judge set Haynes bail at $200,000 and Smith's bail at $250,000.

Hearings were set for both suspects at 1:30 p.m. on Monday June 30th.

Court documents say between May 24 and June 17, the two neglected the girl, depriving her of basic needs "to the extent the child required emergency surgery to save her life."

Evidence exhibited in court Wednesday included photos showing a small blonde-haired girl with blood and feces caked on her body, bruising all over her body, a large patch of blood on her cheek, signs of infection and internal bleeding, and debris in her hair.

A doctor told the court the girl has a 50% chance of living, and that multiple surgeries would be required to remove dead flesh, possibly from frostbite or trauma, found on her ankles, toes and hands.

They said during an examination, the girl appeared to fade in and out of consciousness.

The girl remains in care at Sacred Heart Medical Center where doctors initially said they were concentrating simply on keeping her alive.

Court documents say Smith "seemed very indifferent about the condition of the child." At one point Haynes told the court she didn't understand what she was being charged with or why.

Haynes told the court the three-year old girl is her daughter. She said she met Smith on the Internet, and that he was alone with the girl while she worked from her home.

Authorities say an unharmed six-year old was also removed from the home and returned to her father, who told police that when he'd seen the girls three weeks ago they both appeared to be fine.

The Benewah County Sheriff's Office initially sent a deputy to the child's house on Hell's Gulch Road to investigate Tuesday, after getting a phone call from a concerned citizen.