11-month-old girl taken to Indianapolis for 3rd-degree burns; father, girlfriend arrested

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An Evansville father and his girlfriend are in jail on preliminary neglect charges for reportedly burning his 11-month-old child in a bath and not seeking medical treatment.

The child was taken to a local hospital Monday before being transferred to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment of new and old burns, a left arm fracture and severe dehydration. 

The mother called 911 after noticing the burns when she picked her daughter up from the father Monday afternoon.

Officers responded to the Conoco gas station in the 1600 block of South Kentucky Avenue at 3:47 p.m. Monday after the mother told emergency dispatchers that the girlfriend of the father had burned the child. She reportedly said she did not know if it was intentional or accidental. 

Arriving officers found severe burns on the 11-month-old child's face and body, and an ambulance transported the child to St. Vincent Hospital for treatment. 

At the hospital, a doctor told police the 11-month-old victim had third-degree burns on 15% of her body that had been there for several days as well as a left arm fracture. The doctor also said the child had a soiled diaper that had not been changed in days and was "severely dehydrated," according to police. 

The doctor reportedly told police the fracture "was caused by trauma with force."

According to an affidavit, "St. Vincent medical staff advised they were not equipped to treat burns this severe." The child was transported to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment. 

Khauyl Hunter, 25, and Aisha Kinyanjui, 19, both of Evansville, were arrested on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent. 

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The mother told police she lives in Louisville and has never been in a relationship with Hunter, who lives together with Kinyanjui in Evansville. She said her daughter spent recent weeks with Hunter before he contacted her Monday and told her that his girlfriend had burned the child during a bath. He reportedly said the girl had not been eating in recent days, and told her to come pick up the child in Evansville. 

They agreed to meet at the gas station, where Hunter put the car seat with the child in the mother's car. According to the mother, that is when she saw the burns on the child's face, became angry, and tried to hit Hunter. 

Kinyanjui was reportedly driving the car Hunter arrived in, and both left before the mother called 911. 

Evansville Police later located the couple, who were taken into custody and interviewed at police headquarters.

Hunter and Kinyanjui each initially told police the child already had burn marks when they picked the girl up in Louisville between eight and ten days earlier. They said the mother told them to use Aquaphor on the burns, which they did for a few days without seeing improvement, but did not take her to see a doctor. 

They both later admitted they lied, but each blamed the injuries on the other person.

Kinyanjui told police that three or four days before, Hunter gave the child a bath, during which he allegedly also turned on the showerhead to let water rain down on the child. She said she noticed redness and, later, blisters form on the child's face.

Kinyanjui said Hunter popped the blisters, and they used Vaseline to treat the burns instead of seeking medical care. Kinyanjui said they spoke to the girl's mother about going to the hospital.

Both Hunter and Kinyanjui said they never took the child to the hospital because they didn't have her birth certificate or Social Security number. Hunter reportedly said he was afraid "they would take her away from me," according to the affidavit. 

In her interview, Kinyanjui alleged that Hunter told her what to say to police and threatened to harm her if she told investigators a different story.

Hunter reportedly told police that his girlfriend caused the injuries. Police say "he stated several times that he was the one that put the victim in the bath, but he left the bathroom to go cook in the kitchen and that Ms. Kinyanjui was the one responsible for the child's injuries."

Hunter and Kinyanjui were arrested and booked into the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center early Tuesday morning.