Caregivers charged with child abuse of mute, blind quadriplegic girl

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A man and a woman face aggravated child abuse charges in connection to a mute and blind quadriplegic girl being left unsupervised at a hospital in West Palm Beach.

Police say caregivers Marcus Brown and Annette Slater brought the 11-year-old girl to the hospital last August.

Hospital staff told police the girl weighed only 45 pounds and appeared to be "skin and bones." According to the arrest report, the girl who also has Cerebral Palsy and suffers from Epilepsy, had an infected thumb. Police said she chewed on it down to the bone. Doctors had to partially amputate it due to the infection.

Police said Brown refused to return to the hospital to speak with detectives or workers with the Department of Children and Families.

Police said DCF tried on multiple occasions to help Brown with the girl's doctor's appointments. According to the report, investigators said Brown and Slater "showed an utter unwillingness to cooperate" in reference to the victim.

DCF says investigations involving the girl go back to 2008 and include family violence threats, inadequate supervision and substance misuse, and medical neglect.

West Palm Beach Police filed arrest warrants for the pair in December.

Brown, 36, and Slater, 33, were scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning following their arrests by the warrants division of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.