BAKER COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida mother has been charged with child neglect after detectives said her eight-month-old weighed the average weight of a two-month-old.
According to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Haylee Kent’s mother noticed that her grandson was severely underweight and took the child to Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville.
Staff at the hospital described the child as gravely ill due to life-threatening starvation. The staff also found the infant suffered a skull fracture.
Kent, who did not cooperate with DCF or visit the hospital while her son was admitted, spoke to deputies several days after the incident.
Through the investigation and Kent’s admission, detectives established that the victim suffered a pattern of neglect since the day he was born.
Prior to being taken into custody, Kent told detectives she felt the way her child needed to be fed was sometimes annoying, so she just opted not to do so.
According to the sheriff’s office, the child is recovering, gaining weight, and has been placed in foster care.
Kent has been charged with child neglect with great bodily harm and child neglect without great bodily harm.
