Fiancée Charged With Harming Toddler
A 2-year-old girl suffered a skull fracture while in the care of her father’s fiancée and today the accused is behind bars.
Detectives from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department today arrested Karen Marie Bartley, 35, of Robson Road, Winona Lake, on a class B felony preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent/endangering life and causing serious bodily injury.
KCSD deputies initiated an investigation after being notified by Kosciusko Community Hospital officials on Dec. 18, about a 2-year-old girl who was brought to the emergency room by her father and his fiancée, identified as Bartley. The toddler was experiencing instability and had been vomiting. She was transferred to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne where testing determined the girl had suffered a skull fracture.
Bartley originally said that the toddler, while in her care, threw a “temper tantrum” and had repeatedly struck the back of her head against the floor. Medical officials advised detectives that the injuries were not conducive to Bartley’s claims.
During interviews with detectives, Bartley later admitted she had been playing with the child on Dec. 18 and became “overly aggressive,” although police have not said what the woman did.
Bartley is currently in the Kosciusko County Jail on a prosecutorial hold from the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office who also assisted detectives with the investigation of the incident.