Indiana police said that they have arrested a couple after they allegedly gave the woman’s 10-month-old daughter marijuana to treat her broken leg.
Tessa Rose Murray, 23, and her boyfriend Nerrell McCoy, 20, were each charged with ‘two counts of neglect of a dependent’ on Monday, according to The Star Press.
They are currently being held at the Delaware County jail with their bond set at $10,000 each.
Tessa Rose Murray (right), 23, and her boyfriend Nerrell McCoy, 20, were each charged with ‘two counts of neglect of a dependent’ on Monday
On June 18, the infant was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital to treat a ‘dislocated femur fracture,’ the Press reported.
Muncie Police Department investigator Kris Swanson said that the hospital notified the authorities soon after the girl was admitted.
During questioning, Murray told investigators that her daughter broke her leg after falling off the sofa.
Muncie Police Department investigator Kris Swanson (pictured) said that the hospital notified the authorities soon after the girl was admitted
Murray later changed her account, stating her daughter was injured when another child pulled on it while she was falling from a bed.
After securing a warrant, Swanson said the department searched Murray’s cell phone and discovered an exchange with McCoy dating to five days earlier on June 13.
‘(The baby) prolly(sic) needs some weed and she will be good for now,’ one of the text messages, sent by by McCoy, allegedly reads.
McCoy also said that he thought the child was suffering from a ‘muscle or tendon injury,’ and said he had put her leg ‘in a book splint,’ according to the Press.
Swanson later stated in an affidavit that the child tested ‘positive for marijuana in excess of what could be attributed to second-hand smoke.’
The couple admitted that they did not provide proper medical care for the small child.
The girl had been taken away from Murray’s custody the previous year, the Star Press noted.
Investigators later stated in an affidavit that the child tested ‘positive for marijuana in excess of what could be attributed to second-hand smoke’