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CLEARFIELD — A man who told police he was "stressed out" when he allegedly threw a 2-year-old boy headfirst to the ground and then kicked him while trying to potty train him has been charged.
Terrell Christopher McCoy, 29, and Krystal Mellisse Garibay, 26, of Clearfield, were charged Oct. 27 in 2nd District Court with child abuse, a second-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a third-degree felony. Both were arraigned Monday and entered not guilty pleas.
According to charging documents, Clearfield police were called Oct. 21 to Davis Hospital and Medical Center, where doctors were treating an unconscious boy.
"Medical staff became immediately concerned due to his unresponsiveness and multiple, visible injuries/bruises all over his body, including his forehead, back, abdomen, legs and left foot. In addition, (the boy’s) brain was partially herniated, requiring immediate surgery to relieve pressure to his brain," charges state.
The boy was flown to Primary Children's Hospital, where "the outlook for (the boy) was grim due to the amount of pressure of blood in his brain," prosecutors noted at the time the charges were filed.
In a recently unsealed search warrant filed in 2nd District Court, investigating officers from the Clearfield Police Department noted at the time that they were unsure if the boy would survive.
On Tuesday, however, Clearfield police updated the boy's condition, saying he had made a remarkable recovery and had since been released from the hospital. The boy was released to Child Protective Services.
"However, the child will need further medical follow-up," said Clearfield Police Lt. Kelly Bennett.
At the hospital on the night the boy was injured, the boy's mother initially told police she had left her son alone in the bathroom and he hit his head on a shelf. But she continued to change her story, giving detectives "multiple inconsistent statements," according to charging documents.
Doctors said the injuries sustained by the boy could not have happened from a fall in the bathroom.
"When confronted about the severity of (the boy's) injuries, Krystal Garibay stated that Terrell McCoy 'took it too far,'" charges state.
Garibay eventually told police that she watched McCoy "pick up her son by his armpits and then throw him down headfirst into the linoleum floor. (Garibay) reported (that McCoy) then began to kick the child while he was on the ground," the warrant affidavit states.
After she told McCoy to go outside to calm down, she noticed her son "was having seizures and throwing up."
McCoy also initially gave police several inconsistent stories about what happened, charging documents state. He eventually told them that he yelled at the boy for pooping on himself, and “I hit him pretty hard and he fell," charges state. "Throughout the interview, Terrell McCoy stated he was stressed out due to his current living and financial situation."
Clearfield police stated Tuesday that McCoy "caused serious bodily injury to the victim after the victim defecated in his pants while being potty trained."
Since their arrests, Child Protective Services have removed two other children from McCoy and Garibay's residence, according to Clearfield police. Their next court date is scheduled for Nov. 28.
