A heartbreaking victim/survivor story: Isabella Marie Skinner. 17-month old Isabella almost froze to death after being locked in a room with the air conditioning blasting away because he mother allegedly hated the way she looked. Police found Isabella Skinner suffering from chronic hypothermia after rescuing her from her home. Temperatures in Florida were in the high 70s yet paramedics said she was cold to touch when she was rushed to hospital. Medical staff treating the girl were unable to straighten her legs from a curled, fetal position she had adopted to try and stay warm. Even under sedation they were unable to straighten her legs as the tendons and muscles were so badly damaged. Alyssia Skinner, 22, is alleged to have carried out the systematic abuse of her only child in revenge for looking like her father and mother-in law. Police say she was abused for weeks before being found close to death at her home in Hernando, Fla. The skin on her bottom and thighs was said to have wasted away from being forced to lie in her own waste. She also severely malnourished and suffered from refeeding syndrome, which happens when a person has been starved for long periods of time and then the body reacts negatively when reintroduced to food. Doctors also found that she suffered from bleeding on the brain commonly seen in shaken baby cases. In an arrest report deputies describe the room the child was kept in to be extremely cold, cluttered and dirty. They said there was only a small area of bare carpet -- damp and urine-soaked -- where the baby was believed to be laying while numerous soiled diapers were scattered around the floor. A man who regularly visited Skinners home told investigators that Skinner only once took the child out of the room, and that the toddler seemed lethargic and would not laugh or play. He also claimed Skinner would only go into the childs room when the toddler cried, and that once the crying stopped, she would come out, leaving the child behind. Skinner will spend the next 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse, and after her release from prison in 2030, she will serve 14 years-probation. Isabella is now 2-and-a-half-years-old. She is slowly recovering but doctors say she is still struggling to walk and talk. Experts say she will likely suffer physical and mental issues for the rest of her life. >plw
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000
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