The victim's mother was also scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday on charges of child abuse, aggravated battery and child endangerment. Katheryn Nycole Dale's case was moved to next week.
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Update (4/2)
Chad Carr has been charged with 16 counts of possession of child pornography. The charges are unrelated to the child abuse charges against him in Harvey County.
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Update (3/31)
By Kim Hynes (NEWTON, Kan.)
The mother of a 19-month-old North Newton boy killed over the weekend is now charged in the case. Harvey County Attorney David Yoder filed four counts against Katheryn Nycole Dale: two counts of felony child endangerment, one count of felony child abuse and one count of aggravated battery.
During a press conference Wednesday morning, Yoder said he has never seen a child abuse case this bad in his 28 years practicing law. He says Vincent's eyes were swollen shut, his leg was twisted and broken and some of his fingernails were torn out.
Yoder says based upon the evidence, his mother contributed to the injuries. She will make her first appearance Wednesday at 4:00pm.
Her boyfriend, Chad Carr made his first appearance Tuesday. He's charged with child abuse and aggravated battery. Yoder expected to add a homicide charge once the autopsy results are complete.
Report to SRS
Also during the press conference, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton further explained the call placed to SRS. On January 20th a neighbor called an SRS hotline to report yelling and screaming at a child next door. Walton says that information was not forwarded to any law enforcement agency or the Newton SRS.
Walton provided a copy of the reason SRS did not forward the information. "The report does not indicate harm to the child. There is nothing to indicate that the child is being physically harmed by the father. No indication the father yelling at the child is impairing or endangering the child socially or intellectually, to the point that it is causing the child to deteriorate and not being to function on a daily basis. Not enough information to determine if the family has a history with the agency. This completes the initial assessment with no further action needed."
Walton says seeing the reason is frustrating. He says it would have been nice for the North Newton police department or local SRS office to check things out for themselves. He says there's no way to know for sure, but it may have saved Vincent's life.
Walton says if you do want to report any kind of abuse, the best bet is to call 911. He says that way an officer in your community will go check it out. He says that will prevent information from getting stalled in a call center. He says the call center is either in Topeka or Wichita. He says if you're worried about your identity, they never say who called in the report. And if needed, law enforcement pass the information to SRS.
Expect updates on-air, online and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/KWCH12).
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Update (3/30)
By Kim Hynes (NORTH NEWTON, Kan.)
A Harvey County man is charged in connection to the death of a 19-month-old boy. Twenty-six year-old Chad Carr appeared in court Tuesday, charged with two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of child abuse.
Harvey County Attorney David Yoder expects to add homicide charges later this week. He also expects to file charges in a separate case against Carr. He says, while looking into the child's death, investigators found evidence Carr had child pornography and drugs.
Tuesday's charges stem from the death of Vincent Hill. Hill was found unresponsive at his North Newton home Saturday. He later died from what authorities call child abuse. They say he was covered from head to toe in bruises and had a broken leg and collar bone. They say he also showed signs of past abuse.
