Investigators from Denton Police Department arrested 57-year-old Angela Downing on a charge of murder after she confessed to harming her 3-year-old grandson on purpose and after the boy was declared brain dead by physicians on January 22.
Child Protective Services informed Denton officers on January 18 that a severely injured child was receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Downing, the legal guardian of the child, initially claimed to hospital staff that the child had fallen down a flight of stairs; however, after a thorough investigation, it was determined that the injuries that the child sustained were not accidental.Â
Downing eventually confessed that she forcefully threw the child onto the bathroom floor and against a wall, causing the 3-year-old to suffer a skull fracture, a brain bleed, and brain swelling.
Per CBS 11 News, doctors declared the child brain dead before declaring him legally dead.
The Denton Police Department urges anyone who knows of – or suspects – child abuse to call its agency at (940) 349-8181.
Abuse can be alternatively reported by dialing (972) 317-2818 and informing the Children’s Advocacy Center for North Texas.
