Doctors say the baby suffered injuries similar to a 'very bad car accident'; mother was blamed

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT/Gray News) – An Arkansas mother is suspected of injuring her 6-month-old baby after doctors told police the baby suffered injuries attributable only to a “major car accident or physical abuse.”

Craighead District Court Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause Saturday that police arrested 19-year-old Ryanne Elizabeth Foster on suspicion of second-degree battery. KAIT reports.

The charge stems from a July complaint that a 6-month-old baby was taken to a hospital in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and later transferred to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, with serious injuries.

Foster and the baby’s father reported that the baby was born prematurely and had a seizure after being brought home from the neonatal intensive care unit. It was stated that the father said that the seizures occurred while he was away.

Foster claimed that the baby, whom he named “potato”, fell off the couch during one such seizure, causing injuries. But doctors told investigators the baby had “mixed bleeding in the right and left brain, microbruises in the forebrain and hindbrain” and multiple fractures to the arms and legs, according to the affidavit.

“When I asked the doctor what could cause such injuries in a 6-month-old child, I was told it had to be a very bad car accident or physical abuse,” said Sgt. Bill Brown in court documents.

When Brown tried to talk to parents about the alleged injuries, Foster “did not call” him back.

Brown finally spoke with the boy’s father for a second time on Saturday. She reportedly apologized and said she had left Foster and moved out of town. She told Brown she feared the baby “could die” if she remained in Foster’s care, according to the affidavit.

“(He) mentioned that Ryanne described (the baby) as a sack of flour and that she had more of an emotional attachment to her dogs than to the baby,” Brown said.

When asked at Wednesday’s probable cause hearing if she had any other children, Foster said, “I have a dog.”

Police arrested Foster on Monday and booked him into the Craighead County Detention Center, where he remains on a $50,000 cash/surety bond. The judge ordered him to have no contact with his child.

Foster is scheduled to appear in circuit court on Dec. 17.

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