A 2-year-old girl who had been beaten with a video game
controller by her mother’s boyfriend died late Monday, after being in coma for
a day, police reported Tuesday.
Darisabel Baez was hospitalized at the Hershey Medical
Center after suffering serious injuries to her head and body, and her death was
reported Monday night.
After being charged with reckless endangerment and
aggravated assault, the girl’s aggressor is now charged with homicide.
The little girl’s mother, Neida E. Baez, said she had known
about the beating Sunday, but did not realize it was so serious until she discovered
her daughter was unconscious. According to the Associated Press, the
19-year-old young woman declared her boyfriend Harve L. Johnson had brought the
little girl to her, after failing to revive her in the bathtub. Baez then
called an ambulance.
Dauphin County coroner Graham Hetrick said the wounds and
bruises on the Darisabel’s body proved that she had been abused for a long
time, and the beating she had suffered on Sunday was certainly not a singular
case.
Baez is also currently in jail, being charged with
endangering the welfare of a child.
"She heard the beating take place," Detective Dana
Ward said. "Her crime is she did nothing to protect her child."
Baez and her boyfriend are now held in the York County
Prison. Johnson’s bail was set at $200,000, while the woman’s at $25,000.
Johnson acknowledged beating the little girl with the game
controller, but would not reveal the reasons behind his action.
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