Mother faces charges after baby scalded in bath

JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (Daily Journal) - An 8-year-old boy suffered serious burns in a bathtub but was not treated at a hospital for three days, according to police.

Kelly D. Hampton, 32, of Morgantown, was arrested on a warrant for a felony charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, 24-Hour News 8’s news partner the Daily Journal reports.

This incident occurred in April, police say.

Hampton told police she left her child unsupervised in the bathtub for a few minutes, according to a probable cause affidavit. She told police it was an accident and she should have been more aware.

The baby suffered second and third degree burns to about 10 to 18 percent of his body, according to the affidavit.

The Department of Child Services investigated the case after Hampton took the child to Johnson Memorial Hospital.

A child services worker found that the child had a burn on his upper left arm down to his elbow and burns on his left side, left thigh and left knee and calf. The burns stretch all the way around the leg in places, according to a release.

Hampton told the social worker that she was giving two children a bath and was distracted when another son came into the bathroom, the affidavit said. She told the investigator that she turned the hot water on high when she meant to turn it off while her back was turned and she was distracted. 

She later gave the social worker and police different explanations for what happened, including that she was in the hallway talking with her husband when her baby suffered the burns and that she had been in the bathroom but her husband yelled at her to come out.

One of Hampton’s children told the Department of Child Services workers that his parents were in the bedroom with the door closed while he was giving himself and the baby a bath, and he accidentally turned the water on high, the affidavit said.

The child services worker later determined the water from the bathtub reached 200 degrees in 12 seconds because of the water heater’s setting.

Hampton told investigators that once she realized what had happened, she inspected her baby but thought he just looked like he had a sunburn.

Later that night, she noticed her child had a blister, according to the affidavit.

Hampton said she waited three days to take the baby to the hospital because she first tried bandaging the baby’s wounds herself and wanted to attend another child’s program at school the next day.

She was released from the Johnson County Jail on $4,000 bond.