A 20-year-old Missouri man is facing child abuse charges after his infant daughter was found with 14 fractures all over her tiny body.
According to a probable cause statement, Richard Leonard and his wife took their 2-month-old daughter to a pediatrician on Wednesday, and the doctor told them they should take the baby to the hospital because of bruising on her body. The couple declined to do that, and the doctor reported potential abuse to the Department of Family Services.
Later in the day, Leonard called the Lee’s Summit Police Department about the doctor’s advise that the baby be taken to the hospital. The police officer he spoke with advised them to cooperate. Meanwhile, the DFS called the police department as well and asked for a welfare check on the infant.
Leonard’s wife, the mother of the baby, answered the door when police arrived. Police said the child was “content being held by” her mother and noted no distress.
Late that night, the parents took the little girl to Children’s Mercy Hospital, where personnel began noting the fractures and bruising on the baby. They called police to the hospital.
Doctors said they’d found 14 fractures to the baby’s arms, legs, ribs, and fingers, along with bruises on her shoulder, face, and back. Leonard said he had tripped and fallen while holding the baby, but initially said he did not fall on the child. Upon hearing the extent of the injuries, he said he had, in fact, fallen on the baby.
But the doctor said a fall did not explain all the child’s injuries, especially since some of them were in various stages of healing. The doctor said the baby exhibited signs of “classic abuse” and not accidents.
The Department of Family Services took the child into custody, while police continued to interview the mother, who said they’d been together a little more than a year and married in May. A few weeks earlier, they’d moved from Cass County to Lee’s Summit, a suburban Kansas City town in Jackson County. She also described abuse Leonard suffered as a child and that he’d been placed in foster care.
In a subsequent interview, Leonard acknowledged having anger issues and said the stress of the new baby had led him to being “too furceful during dressing, swaddling, and diaper changes,” saying he would “use more force than necessary” when he became frustrated with the baby. He attributed much of his stress to a lack of sleep and the baby’s constant crying.
Leonard posted a $50,000 bond after his arrest and is due back in court on Monday, Law&Crime reported. He was ordered to have no contact with his wife or child.
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[Featured image: Richard Leonard/Jackson County Detention Center]
