Police have arrested an Iowa couple, accusing the duo of severely burning a disabled teenager in a bath of bleach, and then waiting days, while driving across the country, to get her medical care, according to The Des Moines Register.
Katrina Joy Eubanks, 51, and Garry Eubanks, 55, were looking after Airionna Bent, 19, on May 28 when they allegedly bathed her in a tub of bleach, according to court records. Instead of getting her medical care, according to KCRG, the couple is alleged to have taken the injured teen on a road trip, from Iowa to Florida, leaving her burns untreated for six excruciating days.
The victim suffers from cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, according to her mother, Becky Bent-Weible. She is unable to speak and eats via a feeding tube. The 19-year-old has been living with the Eubankses since 2015, when they were appointed as her caretakers by a company that provides services to adults with intellectual disabilities.
Court documents allege that the Eubankses claim the bleach bath was an accident. Her family was not notified of the cross country trip, according to those same documents.
“I just feel if this had been an accident, why didn’t you take her to the hospital immediately?” Bent-Weible asked.
Pasco County officers arrested Katrina and Garry Eubanks on June 2, shortly after receiving arrest warrants from Iowa. Bent was transferred to a trauma unit after the couple brought her to the Tampa emergency room.
Authorities have noted that Katrina Eubanks told officers that “she didn’t know the injuries were that bad or that the bath water was that hot.”
According to court records, however, Garry Eubanks told authorities that the 19-year-old was screaming and crying. He also mentioned that the “injuries were so bad that you could see fingerprint impressions on Bent’s skin if someone touched her.”
Bent-Weible said her daughter is currently being treated at an Iowa hospital, having suffered severe burns. The mother said that doctors are hopeful that her skin will fully heal.
“We have gotten her back to town and settled in. Seeing all the healing she has to go through breaks my heart but I know what a fighter she is,” Bent-Weible wrote on a GoFundMe page for her daughter. “Please keep praying for her and to get the help needed.”
Urbandale police are working with Florida authorities to extradite the Eubankses to Iowa so they can face kidnapping and neglect charges.
[Featured Image: Pasco County Sheriff’s Office/KCCI/screengrab]
