WICHITA — Doctors have concluded a 17-month-old girl died of severe child abuse after being left in the care of her mother’s boyfriend.
A police document released Monday says hospital staff found bruises and bite marks on the girl’s body, swelling and bleeding of her brain, a fractured leg and a cut in one of her internal organs that came from a direct blow to her abdomen.
The Wichita Eagle reports that Grace Harris died at a local hospital on Nov. 14, five days after she was taken there by paramedics when she was found unresponsive. A coroner determined she died of blunt-force trauma to her head and neck.
Her mother’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Michael C. Ross, faces first-degree felony murder and child abuse charges in her death. Ross has previously told police that Grace fell.
