harrisonsdream
05-29-2007, 10:35 AM
Mother charged after toddler dies from severe burns
By STEVE MCVICKER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
An east Houston woman has been charged with murder after she took her severely burned 2-year-old daughter to a hospital and the girl died there Monday, according to public records.
Yokandra Lanett Midkiff, 24, was identified in Harris County court records today as the woman who told hospital officials that her daughter had fallen into a campfire on a beach. But the girl's burns appeared to have resulted from immersion in scalding water, said Estella Olguin, spokeswoman for Child Protective Services.
Houston police continue investigating the death and no bond has been set today, according to court records. Midkiff remained in custody.
Child welfare authorities placed Midkiff's other child, a 9-month-old boy, in the custody of an aunt pending further investigation.
The girl was brought to Memorial Hermann Hospital by ambulance about 9 a.m. Monday and died about 2 p.m., Olguin said. She said the girl had second- and third-degree burns on her buttocks, genitals, legs and feet.
The girl's name was being withheld pending notification of her father, who does not live with the mother and children, Olguin said.
Midkiff, of 777 Coolwood Drive, said the child fell into a campfire during a family barbecue on a beach, Olguin said, but doctors said the burns appeared to have been inflicted by extremely hot water.
Some of the burns were old enough to have become infected, Olguin said, and the mother could not say exactly when and where the injuries were inflicted.
The girl was taken into CPS custody shortly after her birth because Midkiff had failed two drug tests, Olguin said.
She said authorities returned the baby to Midkiff's custody after the woman underwent drug treatment.
By STEVE MCVICKER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
An east Houston woman has been charged with murder after she took her severely burned 2-year-old daughter to a hospital and the girl died there Monday, according to public records.
Yokandra Lanett Midkiff, 24, was identified in Harris County court records today as the woman who told hospital officials that her daughter had fallen into a campfire on a beach. But the girl's burns appeared to have resulted from immersion in scalding water, said Estella Olguin, spokeswoman for Child Protective Services.
Houston police continue investigating the death and no bond has been set today, according to court records. Midkiff remained in custody.
Child welfare authorities placed Midkiff's other child, a 9-month-old boy, in the custody of an aunt pending further investigation.
The girl was brought to Memorial Hermann Hospital by ambulance about 9 a.m. Monday and died about 2 p.m., Olguin said. She said the girl had second- and third-degree burns on her buttocks, genitals, legs and feet.
The girl's name was being withheld pending notification of her father, who does not live with the mother and children, Olguin said.
Midkiff, of 777 Coolwood Drive, said the child fell into a campfire during a family barbecue on a beach, Olguin said, but doctors said the burns appeared to have been inflicted by extremely hot water.
Some of the burns were old enough to have become infected, Olguin said, and the mother could not say exactly when and where the injuries were inflicted.
The girl was taken into CPS custody shortly after her birth because Midkiff had failed two drug tests, Olguin said.
She said authorities returned the baby to Midkiff's custody after the woman underwent drug treatment.