Florida baby boy “mashed” by day care worker who’s on the run. The baby can’t walk or talk.
A daycare worker who beat an 8-month-old boy escaped right under police noses. She is still on the loose five days later and officers are on the hunt, police said.
On Thursday afternoon, Gainesville police officers were sent to Cuddly Kids Academy to investigate a report of a child being assaulted, according to a police press release.
When the child’s parent arrived to pick him up she saw injuries to the eight-month-old’s face.
A police investigation first indicated that the injuries may have come from another child. But the day care’s video surveillance told a different story.
When police reviewed the video they said they saw one of the day care workers, 37-year-old Erica Hall, had caused the injuries to the child.
While police were looking at the video, Hall fled the day care facility. Officers conducted a search of the area but couldn’t find her, police said.
Bree Davis, the child’s mother, told the Gainesville Sun her son’s face was swollen under his nose and eyes, his eyes were bloodshot, he had a mark on his neck and a bruise on the side of his head.
When she saw the surveillance tape, she said Hall reached into his crib and “mashed” his face a couple times, then she could see her arm “go up in the air about three or four times,” and saw her baby’s head move in response.
“It’s like a nightmare you don’t wake up from,” she said.
Davis also told The Independent Florida Alligator that, “He can’t talk, he can’t walk. What could he have possibly done to deserve this?”
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Cpl. Brown at 352-393-7658, their local law enforcement agency or can remain anonymous by calling Alachua County Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867.
This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 2:54 PM.
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