By HEATHER RUPPE
A Walterboro couple is charged with abusing their newborn infant.
Trenton Clayton Fail, 19, and Janie Aleecia Marie Morris, 21, both of Walterboro, are each charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
According to the Walterboro Police Department, the charges against Fail and Morris stem from their alleged repeat physical abuse of their newborn son, who was first brought to Colleton Medical Center on Nov. 16, 2021 with swelling on his head.
According to information provided by the police department, Morris brought her infant to the Colleton Medical Center Emergency Room, saying the newborn’s son was swelling on the top right portion of his head. Doctors told officers they noticed bruising to the infant’s left eye ear: Morris told hospital staff that the bruise was the result of the newborn’s one-year-old sibling dropping a cell phone onto the infant’s face. However, hospital staff immediately notified the Colleton County Department of Social Services (DSS) and the child was transported to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston.
The child remains in critical condition at MUSC and is under Emergency Protective Custody.
As of press deadline this week, the newborn is still in ICU in critical condition, according to Sgt. Tavara Edwards, spokeswoman for the Walterboro Police Department.
The criminal investigation into both Fail and Morris immediately began when hospital staff notified the Walterboro Police Department on Nov. 16th. However, the two were not charged with child abuse and unlawful conduct toward a child until last week, on Wednesday, Jan. 26th, when local authorities say they had enough evidence to formally charge the parents.
Since their arrest, both Fail and Morris have both been released from custody after posting bail: Fail was given a $75,000 cash/surety bond and Morris was given a $50,000 cash/surety bond.
