An Arizona couple has been arrested after they allegedly poured scalding hot water over the head of the woman’s toddler and kept his injuries a secret until he died.
Artnesia Aaliyah Baptist and Alexsander Byrne are facing murder and child abuse charges in connection to the death of Baptist’s 22-month-old son. The couple allegedly “hid” the boy’s burns from his biological father, as well as threatened to kill the father if he tried to pick the child up.
Byrne, 21, admitted that he and Baptist, 24, “intentionally refused medical treatment for the child” despite the fact that he sustained severe burns because they thought Child Protective Services would get involved.
“[Byrne] admitted that he knew it was wrong, illegal, caused additional injury to the child, additional pain, and caused the death of the child,” a probable cause affidavit read, according to Law & Crime.
Baptist and Byrne have been accused of causing “sustained severe liquid burns” to the child on April 3, which appeared to be “similar to hot/boiling water poured over the victim’s head, which ran down the victim’s neck, shoulders, chest, back and hips and caused the skin to loosen and blister.”
Police said that 40 percent of the boy’s body was burned, per the probable cause affidavit.
Byrne allegedly told authorities that he saw “big chunks” of skin peeling off the child during a diaper change. However, both Baptist and Byrne denied knowing how the child sustained the burns.
Amid the investigation, police searched Byrne’s internet history and found searches that included “can 2nd degree burns kill you” and “first degree burns,” according to the affidavit.
The couple also allegedly told Byrne’s parents that the boy had a cold, and they lied about him “getting better” when Byrne’s mother offered to bring him to an urgent care.
Baptist and Byrne used burn cream, Tylenol and aloe vera in an attempt to treat the injuries, per the affidavit. Additionally, Byrne allegedly told police that the boy had a fever, started throwing up and was unable to walk after he sustained the burns.
The child ultimately died from a severe infection and sepsis on April 12, according to police.
“The infection continued to spread and grow causing what the medical examiner described as a slow, painful decline of sepsis that had occurred at least 48 hours prior to the child’s death,” the affidavit stated.
Authorities responded to a home where the couple was staying after they were notified about the child’s death. The child was then transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“The smell of his skin filled the emergency room with the odor of rotten flesh,” the affidavit said. “The skin on the victim’s shoulders, clavicle, and down his sternum, under his hair, down the back of his neck, his back, buttocks, and hips, was missing/red and appeared infected.”
Baptist and Byrne are each facing charges of murder and child abuse and are both being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.
It is not currently clear if either Baptist or Byrne have entered pleas regarding the charges. The Mesa Police Department did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the case.
