Last week, a Missouri woman was ordered to remain jailed without bond for abusing and neglecting her 3-year-old daughter until she nearly died.
The Joplin Globe reported that Celia Lara-Licon, 24, was criminally charged amid a child welfare investigation involving her three children and their fathers. On March 3, Lara-Licon allegedly told a state child welfare worker that she was the person who had been abusing her toddler daughter — who was hospitalized earlier this month for dehydration, kidney failure, malnutrition, and fractures to nine bones.
Lara-Licon reportedly said she began abusing her daughter 18 months earlier when she started to take care of her full time. She admitted to hitting the child all over her body and yanking her by her arms because she became frustrated with her, according to The Globe.
A day after she spoke with the state child welfare worker, Lara-Licon took her daughter to the emergency room for vomiting. The nurse who examined the girl noted that the girl had a bruise that ran from the left side of her forehead to her right eye. The nurse also noticed that she appeared lethargic and dehydrated, she was nonverbal, weighed 25 pounds, and was unable to hold a cup.
According to the affidavit, hospital staff concluded that the girl had not seen a doctor in 18 months. A pediatrician determined that she was likely nonverbal due to long-term isolation.
Upon further examination, the toddler was found to have a laceration to her pancreas and she was diagnosed with pancreatitis caused by blunt force trauma to her abdomen. The Globe reported that she needed dialysis due to the state of her kidney failure.
Lara-Licon was arrested on March 4, the same day she brought her daughter to the hospital. She’s charged with first-degree domestic assault, child abuse, and child endangerment.
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[Featured image: Celia Lara-Licon/Handout]
