A four-month-old boy suffered second-degree burns after hirents allegedly cooked him in the microwave. Photo / 123rf
A four-month-old boy suffered second-degree burns after hirents allegedly cooked him in the microwave. Photo / 123rf
Two parents have been accused of putting their tiny baby in a microwave oven causing him horrific burns.
Derick and Mikala Boyce-Slezak, both 22, were charged on Tuesday and are jailed on $500,000 bond.
The injuries were discovered when the baby boy, who was just under four months, was takento the Cardinal-Glennon Hospital Emergency Room in April for a rash on his face that turned out to be a wound, according to court documents obtained by the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
Doctors found the periphery of the wound to be a first-degree burn, with the majority of the wound being a second-degree burn, reported the MailOnline.
A superficial second-degree burn was also visible on the front of the infant's scalp.
The infant was also suffering from a skull fracture and a subdural haematoma, a head injury that can cause swelling on the brain.
During testimony on Monday, according to the St Francois County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Mikala stated someone had cleaned the infant's face with a towel that contained a bleach-like substance.
Mikala Boyce-Slezak (left) claimed husband Derik (right) microwaved their son and dropped him on his head in a sick attempt to copy a TV advert. Photo / County Attorney's Office
During a court hearing on Monday, Mikala invoked her right against self-incrimination when asked about the baby's injuries, the documents say. Derick did not testify.
However, an employee of the Children's Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services testified at the hearing that Mikala had stated that she intended to testify that the head wounds were a result of Derick dropping the baby while trying to imitate what he saw on a television commercial.
The Children's Division employee also stated that Mikala had claimed she had reason to believe Derick had placed the infant in a microwave and turned it on for a "short period of time".
The Post-Dispatch also reported that, according to court records, the couple are also the parents of a girl, who they waived custody of shortly after she was born in January 2016.
