INDIANAPOLIS — A woman has been charged with neglect resulting in the death of her 1 year old daughter, after the baby was found covered in burns and died as a result of her injuries in Nov. 2020, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
The mother, Alexandria Jones, has been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, which is a level 1 felony, as well as two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, which are level 3 felonies for her role in the death of her daughter, Kalimah Hernandez.
On Nov. 26, 2020, Emergency Medical Services were called to the 4100 block of Cordell St. due to a 1-year-old child being in, “altered state of consciousness,” according to a probable cause affidavit. The baby was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly upon arriving.
The autopsy report determined that approximately 25% of the child’s body was burned, she was dehydrated, and three of her bones were broken – including the tibia, femur, and radius. The cause of death was determined to be complications from thermal injury.
Jones, 25, said the burns were sustained from a bath Hernandez was taking in the kitchen, according to the probable cause affidavit. Jones states that while she went to go get a towel, the baby accidentally turned the faucet which then adjusted the temperature. Jones also noted that the townhome where she lived had problems with the water pressure.
A search warrant was served to the home where investigators determined that the water reached 152.6 degrees after 1 minute and 15 seconds. The recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that hot top water be set no higher than 120 degrees.
Jones said that she attempted to treat the burns herself. She also stated that she called an area clinic, however there is no record of this call. When asked about the broken bones, Jones stated that she had, “no idea how those could have occurred,” according to the affidavit.
“Although there was no clear evidence of willful intent to cause harm in this instance, the circumstances reported by the mother are inconsistent with the burn pattern,” according to Sergeant Justin Hickman. “Notably, there are no splatter or splash type burns that would be expected from a stream of hot water splashing onto the skin as it exists the faucet. The sharply demarcated pattern on the lower half of the body with sparing in areas of flexion is consistent with submersion into hot water.”
The affidavit states that no medical attention was sought to the potentially survivable emergency in a timely manner.
This story will updated as information becomes available.
