NM child abuse case to go to trial
parents. cleopatra ball and warren mccowan are charged with child abuse and neglect. a grand jury in otero county, new mexico decided there is enough evidence to move forward with a case against the couple. police say the abuse happened inside their home on the 21-hundred block of starlight in alamogordo. reporter josie ortegon has a story you’ll see… … only on abc-seven: prosecutors say newborn baby scarlett had 26 fractures in different stages of healing. doctors say she was in obvious extreme pain for quite some time. pkg: 15:14:22-15:14:43 “baby scarlett the reports ha fractures, upwards of 26.” deputy district attorney scot key says the abuse likely began shortly after she was born in december, 2014. three months later, court documents state her mother, cleopatra ball brought the baby in to the hospital after she noticed her leg swelling and a loss of appetite. doctors found fractures throughout her body. both parents denied harming her, theorizing the injuries were from a genetic bone disease. in october, the couple was arrested and charged. stand-up “speaking to neighbors around here, few people knew mccowan, or heard about what happened but all of them share the same shock. 15:06:17-:20 “it’s heartbreaking, in this country we shouldn’t have this problem. we should be taking care of our children.” baby scarlett is doing fine now and is in state custody. 15:16:16-15:16:37 “sinc cyfd has had custody of her, state custody, no further fractures, which speaks volumes in the causes of those fractures.” a trial is expected later this year. the couple’sattorneys weren’t available for comment. key says he’s confident the facts will speak for themselves in court: 15:07:06 “the experts have thei expert opinion that his is blunt force trauma, not accidental, not a condition, not genetics, anything other than child abuse.” lk liv tag: if convicted, both parents are looking about a mandatory sentence of 40 years in prison. in alamo, jo, abc7. uber is threatening to leave el paso if city
