A daycare employee has been apprehended and formally accused of causing harm to a three-month-old infant by breaking the baby’s arm, as per authorities.
Ashley Karschnick, aged 32, allegedly lost her composure when the baby cried each time she handled her, leading her to forcefully thrust the infant against a crib causing the arm fracture, according to officials.
Karschnick faces a felony charge of reckless child abuse resulting in harm related to the incident that reportedly occurred at Lily Pad Day Care in Fond du Lac. Upon the baby girl’s admission to a children’s hospital with a fractured arm, law enforcement responded, as detailed in a criminal complaint obtained by local news source WBAY.
Reports from Children’s Wisconsin medical records indicate a “minimal displaced spiral fracture of the mid left humeral diaphysis” suffered by the baby, a condition the doctor attributed to child physical abuse.
A thorough investigation was conducted by the police, involving multiple interviews and extensive scrutiny of surveillance footage. Karschnick was on duty in the infant room at the daycare when the alleged abuse took place, as mentioned in local reports. Investigators noted a visible escalation of frustration in the defendant throughout the day as captured by the surveillance footage.
The incident that led to the baby’s arm injury reportedly occurred around 12:30 p.m., according to details from Express.com. Allegedly, the video footage shows Karschnick lifting and forcefully placing the baby into the crib with such impact that the crib visibly shook and emitted a thumping sound upon contact with the mattress.
Approximately 10 minutes later, the footage purportedly shows Karschnick returning to the crib to swaddle the baby, but her attempts were unsuccessful, with the baby’s cries described as “blood-curdling screams.”
Notably, the baby’s arm exhibited signs of dysfunction at that point, as per the affidavit. Despite the video evidence, Karschnick denied the accusations, claiming the crib rocked due to accidental contact with it. When questioned about the baby’s loud cries, she allegedly stated, “I feel like it was the same cry she was giving me. I feel like every time I touched her, she was crying.”
Karschnick is presently in custody and has posted a bond of $2,500 (£1,916). During a court hearing on October 28, the defense requested permission for her to enter public places where children are present, such as supermarkets. The judge upheld the existing bond conditions, per reports from Wbay.