Boy, 4, dies after stepmother holds him in a scalding bath
A four-year-old boy has died after his stepmother held his legs in a scalding hot bath for more than 20 minutes until his skin began blistering off, prosecutors said.
Anna Ritchie, 25, of US state of Ohio, faces 15 years to life in prison for the alleged murder of her husband’s son Austin Cooper.
Ritchie admitted to dipping the boy’s legs in scalding hot water on March 15 to “teach him a lesson” for not wanting to take a bath, which investigators said was 56 degrees Celsius.
Warren County Prosecutor David P Fornshell said it would have taken just four seconds to burn the boy, who had a 95 percent survival rate if paramedics treated the injury immediately.
"This was a completely treatable injury," he said.
Mr Fornshell said Mrs Ritchie was resentful of being the primary caretaker of the child, who was not biologically hers, while her husband worked.
She and the boy’s father Robert Ritchie III assumed guardianship of Austin in January, according to the Washington Post.
Mr Ritchie called 911 after finding the boy’s lifeless body in his bed the following morning.
“I think my son died,” the father said on the emergency call.
“He got into a hot bath last night with my wife and she thought he’d be OK.”
The coroner ruled the child’s death a homicide, concluding Austin died from shock from blood and fluid loss resulting from his burns after his legs were placed in "scalding hot water".
Prosecutors said Austin’s skin was hanging off his body and he was badly bleeding, but instead of seeking medical treatment Mrs Ritchie dressed him in pyjamas and socks then put him to bed.
An investigator told the Associated Press Mrs Ritchie could hear the boy crying through the night, but allegedly ignored him, and told his father not to check on him because she didn't want to wake him, Daytona Daily News reported.
The boy’s grandmother Sheri Gredig called Mrs Ritchie “pure evil" during a video arraignment in March, Indianapolis TV news station WRTV reported.
"She deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison, if not the death penalty," the grandmother said.
“She just acts like she didn’t do anything wrong,” Ms Gredig said. “Like she spanked him.”
“She should never be allowed to walk the streets again… I want her to get the death penalty. She took my baby.”
Mrs Ritchie faces charges including murder and involuntary manslaughter, as well as child endangering and felonious assault.
She is expected to be officially charged on Wednesday.
News break – May 9
