The parents of an Arkansas newborn hospitalized after suffering up to 100 rat bites on her body are expected to face additional charges, documents show.
Probable cause affidavits released Wednesday include one count each of permitting the abuse of a minor, a class B felony, against Erica Shryock, 19, and Charles Elliott, 18, both of Magnolia.
Elliott and Shryock were initially charged with one count each of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a class D felony.
[DOCUMENT: Read police affidavit detailing the case + new probable cause affidavits]
Their 2-week-old daughter was treated Sunday at Magnolia Regional Medical Center for between 75 to 100 rat bites, according to a report from the Magnolia Police Department.
She was later taken to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where doctors performed a facial reconstruction surgery to address a large wound to her forehead.
The infant's "arms, hands and face were covered in rodent bites, her fingers were bitten as well," that document reads in part. "There was a wound that was approximately 1 inch in diameter on [her] forehead, the skull was visible."
Elliott and Shryock told detectives that they had put their daughter to sleep Sunday and awoke to the child screaming, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
A doctor at Arkansas Children's Hospital noted that the "caregivers were either absent or incapacitated to have not responded" during the child's screaming, which authorities believe happened over a lengthy amount of time.
Detectives found "bloody rat footprints" in the newborn's bassinet and and infant toboggan that was "soaked in blood," the police report states.
Affidavits explaining expected charges against both parents were sent to Arkansas Online on Wednesday through 13th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Butler’s office.
Additional information regarding the case was not released by the prosecuting attorney Wednesday afternoon.
The felony charge of permitting the abuse of a minor carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
A charge of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor has a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Elliott and Shryock remained at the Columbia County jail as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday without bail, according to an online inmate roster.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
