WENTZVILLE, Mo. – A young child at the center of a horrific child abuse case has died.
According to St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar, 19-year-old Robert Burnette shoved his fingers down his 6-week-old son's throat to keep him from crying. Burnette also allegedly threw the child against a wall, and shoved the baby's face head first into a bed.
Megan Hendricks, the child’s 20-year-old mother, watched the abuse of her son but did nothing to stop it, Lohmar said.
"There were numerous evidences of broken bones," said Lohmar. “There were several bones broken in the past that had calcification that indicates the healing had already begun. That's an old injury.”
Burnette and Hendricks are currently in custody.
Charges against Burnette have been upgraded to abuse of a child resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years to life in prison, which is the same punishment carried by a second-degree murder charge. He's being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
Photos: STL area mug shots
