ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) – Two Johnson City women accused in a child abuse case now face more charges.
Christina Niles and Cheryl Hawkes originally faced one count of aggravated child abuse and neglect.
At a Wednesday morning preliminary hearing in Carter County General Sessions Court, prosecutors recommended adding four additional charges, meaning each would face five counts of aggravated child abuse and neglect.
Prosecutors accused Niles of abusing her infant child several times from January 27 to February 6.
Hawkes, who shared an apartment with Niles and is the child’s grandmother, faces the same charges as prosecutors said she failed to protect the child.
Court documents obtained by News Channel 11 said the child was brought to Niswonger Children’s Hospital on February 6. The child had suffered “serious bodily injury” and required a ventilator to breathe.
During the preliminary hearing, two Johnson City police investigators testified about interviews conducted with Niles and Hawkes after the child was brought to the hospital.
Much of the discussion focused on the narrative told by Niles and Hawkes about how the child had received several injuries, including a fractured skull, a broken arm, and what investigators believed to be burns to the child’s hand and foot.
Investigator Lauren Younce told prosecutors she had taken images of the child at the hospital, noticing bruising all over the child’s face and head. According to Younce, Niles said the broken arm came from a fall out of a bouncy seat and that the child had been held over a candle flame for two minutes.
Younce added that Niles said a lit cigarette cherry had fallen onto the child’s hands.
As for the skull fracture, Younce said Niles told her in the interview that she had attempted to throw a wooden toy truck into a playpen, which hit the child on the head.
During a search of the home, investigators found toys with blood on them.
Investigator Justin Jenkins said Niles expressed some unknown about how the injuries were sustained in his interview.
“At first, she acted like she didn’t know some of them got there,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins said Niles told him the bruising on the child’s “was not that way” when she left her apartment the morning of the day in which the child was taken to the hospital.
Investigators also interviewed Hawkes, who told investigators she was not aware of the child’s injuries.
“She didn’t seem like she had much care when I was talking to her, as in the pictures that I showed her,” Jenkins said. “She didn’t seem very concerned about it.”
Jenkins said Hawkes told him she had not witnessed any acts of abuse but did say Niles could get frustrated with her child and that she had seen Niles shake the child.
“She did witness on five or six occasions that Christina would get very frustrated with the child and she had to step in and take the child from her,” Jenkins said.
Niles and Hawkes have their next court appearance on June 6.
