Foster ‘dad’ says he broke infant’s bones because she was ‘fussy’: Police

An Indianapolis man is facing criminal neglect and battery charges after he admitted to injuring his 2-month-old foster child, who was hospitalized with bruising and 35 broken bones, WISH-TV reports.

Court documents show Kyle Rice, 26, told doctors at Riley Hospital for Children that he was responsible for the injuries after he got frustrated with the baby.

Medical staff had discovered the injuries to the child and took X-rays of her that showed she had broken bones in her feet, legs, hands and back.

“He tried to give her a bottle, but she was spitting it out. He then changed her diaper and she pooped while he was changing it. He held her, but she continued to cry and wouldn’t calm down,” court records state.

Rice said he squeezed her hard, bent her legs backward and also squeezed her hands and feet. Rice’s mother noticed a suspicious mark on the baby’s leg and alerted his wife, when then took the child to the hospital in January, according to the Indy Star.

The wife told authorities that she didn’t know about the abuse. She said she works full time and that her husband typically stays home to care for their children. In addition to the newborn, Rice and his wife are parents to three siblings they have fostered and adopted, and they also have one biological child, according to the newspaper.

The girl was born prematurely in December and placed in foster care after tests showed she had marijuana in her system at birth, the newspaper reports. A doctor advised that the child not be returned to Rice out of concern for her wellbeing.

“If returned to the hands of the caregiver who inflicted her injuries, she is at significant risk of further, possibly fatal, injury,” the doctor wrote, court document state.

Rice had initially told authorities that he couldn’t explain the girl’s injuries. But when a detective pressed him, Rice requested time to speak with his family and a pastor before acknowledging what happened.

He said the injuries occurred while the child was being “particularly fussy,” court records state.

Rice is scheduled for a trial in April.

[Feature Photo: Kyle Rice/Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department]