Woman, 25, faces charges of throwing infant son against a hard surface

12/19/2012

A 25-year-old Toledo woman faces multiple charges for throwing her infant son against a hard surface, causing head injuries. Authorities do not expect the boy to survive.

Six-month-old Avery Glynn Bacon was flown Tuesday to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan after being taken to Mercy St. Anne Hospital either late Sunday or early Monday, then being transferred to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.

Police accuse his mother, Amanda Bacon, 25, of 504 W. Alexis Rd., of assaulting the boy during a fit of rage, causing skull fractures and suspected brain damage.

She is charged with one count of felonious assault and one count of child endangering, for which she was arraigned Tuesday in Toledo Municipal Court and ordered held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of $1 million bond.

Ms. Bacon knew her son had been injured in the incident at her apartment, according to an arrest warrant, but did not immediately seek medical care. Authorities at Mercy St. Anne contacted police about the boy’s “suspicious” head injuries at 1 a.m. Monday.

Toledo police officials said it’s unclear how long Ms. Bacon waited before taking her son to the hospital, nor have they suggested a motive for her suspected anger.

According to Ms. Bacon’s Facebook page, Avery was born on June 19, weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

On July 25, she posted a picture of her newborn son, asleep and bundled in a white blanket. She captioned the photo, “my gorgeaus Lil Avery hes such a good boy.”

Ms. Bacon also has another young son. It was not clear Tuesday how old he is or who was caring for him in her absence.

Dean Sparks, executive director of Lucas County Children Services, said his agency had no prior contact with Ms. Bacon.

“It’s a horrible tragedy when even one child gets hurt,” Mr. Sparks said. In the United States, he said, “we see 2,000 children die a year of child abuse and neglect. It’s of epidemic proportions in our country.”

Between July and September, Mr. Sparks said, new reports of child abuse or neglect were up 10 percent from the same period in 2011.

For the year’s first nine months, he said, 3,771 new reports were filed in Lucas County, compared with 4,148 for all of 2011.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @tdungjen_Blade.