Pauli
01-18-2008, 06:16 PM
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD (scott.rappold@gazette.com)
THE GAZETTE
January 18, 2008 - 1:59PM
A 4-year-old Colorado Springs girl was repeatedly struck in the head, slammed against a door and a metal bed frame, held underwater and sexually abused, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday.
Madyson Bogard died at Memorial Hospital on Wednesday. An autopsy today by the El Paso County Coroner's Office determined her death was a homicide, the second in Colorado Springs this year. The girl died of an injury caused by a blow to the head, the autopsy found.
Her mother, Chrystie Marie Hardy, 23, and Hardy’s boyfriend, Mark Alton Friend, 25, are being held in El Paso County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. They initially were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder.
The arrest affidavit says Madyson was abused over 3½ months. The couple’s infant boy, born in early November, was unharmed. He has been placed in the custody of the El Paso County Department of Human Services, police said.
The affidavit says Madyson arrived at Memorial Hospital early Tuesday “essentially dead” from a subdural hematoma, a massive blood clot in the brain, after she was found not breathing at their apartment at 3710 Rebecca Lane.
Her mother told police the girl had fallen on some ice earlier that day, but investigators said she had bruises on her arms, knees and forehead and signs of sexual abuse, according to the affidavit.
Later Tuesday, Hardy admitted to witnessing months of abuse by Friend. She told a detective she saw him throw the girl against a door, and her head hit the doorknob. She told him to be careful, she said, because he might give Madyson brain damage, according to the affidavit.
Hardy said she had struck Madyson in the head so hard that it made her hand tingle. She said she also saw Friend throw Madyson against a bed, hold her face underwater in the bathtub and sexually abuse her. She lied about her slipping on the ice because she “didn’t want Mr. Friend to get into trouble,” the affidavit says.
Detectives interviewed Friend the same day, and they say he admitted to hitting and throwing Madyson, on one occasion throwing her so hard against a metal bed that she bounced back and hit her head on the floor. He also admitted to sexual abuse, the affidavit says.Hardy and Friend told detectives they saw the girl have seizures but didn’t seek medical attention, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit does not indicate when the most recent abuse occurred, though a doctor told investigators her brain injury was no more than 72 hours old, and probably only several hours old.
Madyson died at 9:41 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
Police Sgt. Bill Derhart said Madyson’s father, Andrew Bogard, has traveled here from his home in Las Cruces, N.M.
Outside the family’s apartment, stuffed animals and candles had been left Thursday as a memorial.
Neighbors interviewed by The Gazette after the child was hospitalized said they never saw any marks or bruises on the girl to indicate abuse.
Derhart said investigators are trying to determine whether there had been reports of child abuse there, but he noted that neither Hardy nor Friend had been arrested for child abuse before. The arrest affidavit makes no mention of previous allegations.
Shirley Rhodus, child protection division manager at the county human services department, said privacy laws prevent her from commenting on the case. But, she said abuse cases involving young children can often remain unnoticed.
“It’s not surprising, but I would be surprised that nobody saw her. That can happen, but it’s unusual,” Rhodus said.
Even when children aren’t in school, she said, someone often spots the signs of abuse.
“Schools and teachers are referral sources for us, but we do get a good number of referrals about preschool-age children, and many of them do come from family members,” Rhodus said.
Derhart said police are still investigating the allegations of sexual abuse.
THE GAZETTE
January 18, 2008 - 1:59PM
A 4-year-old Colorado Springs girl was repeatedly struck in the head, slammed against a door and a metal bed frame, held underwater and sexually abused, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday.
Madyson Bogard died at Memorial Hospital on Wednesday. An autopsy today by the El Paso County Coroner's Office determined her death was a homicide, the second in Colorado Springs this year. The girl died of an injury caused by a blow to the head, the autopsy found.
Her mother, Chrystie Marie Hardy, 23, and Hardy’s boyfriend, Mark Alton Friend, 25, are being held in El Paso County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. They initially were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder.
The arrest affidavit says Madyson was abused over 3½ months. The couple’s infant boy, born in early November, was unharmed. He has been placed in the custody of the El Paso County Department of Human Services, police said.
The affidavit says Madyson arrived at Memorial Hospital early Tuesday “essentially dead” from a subdural hematoma, a massive blood clot in the brain, after she was found not breathing at their apartment at 3710 Rebecca Lane.
Her mother told police the girl had fallen on some ice earlier that day, but investigators said she had bruises on her arms, knees and forehead and signs of sexual abuse, according to the affidavit.
Later Tuesday, Hardy admitted to witnessing months of abuse by Friend. She told a detective she saw him throw the girl against a door, and her head hit the doorknob. She told him to be careful, she said, because he might give Madyson brain damage, according to the affidavit.
Hardy said she had struck Madyson in the head so hard that it made her hand tingle. She said she also saw Friend throw Madyson against a bed, hold her face underwater in the bathtub and sexually abuse her. She lied about her slipping on the ice because she “didn’t want Mr. Friend to get into trouble,” the affidavit says.
Detectives interviewed Friend the same day, and they say he admitted to hitting and throwing Madyson, on one occasion throwing her so hard against a metal bed that she bounced back and hit her head on the floor. He also admitted to sexual abuse, the affidavit says.Hardy and Friend told detectives they saw the girl have seizures but didn’t seek medical attention, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit does not indicate when the most recent abuse occurred, though a doctor told investigators her brain injury was no more than 72 hours old, and probably only several hours old.
Madyson died at 9:41 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
Police Sgt. Bill Derhart said Madyson’s father, Andrew Bogard, has traveled here from his home in Las Cruces, N.M.
Outside the family’s apartment, stuffed animals and candles had been left Thursday as a memorial.
Neighbors interviewed by The Gazette after the child was hospitalized said they never saw any marks or bruises on the girl to indicate abuse.
Derhart said investigators are trying to determine whether there had been reports of child abuse there, but he noted that neither Hardy nor Friend had been arrested for child abuse before. The arrest affidavit makes no mention of previous allegations.
Shirley Rhodus, child protection division manager at the county human services department, said privacy laws prevent her from commenting on the case. But, she said abuse cases involving young children can often remain unnoticed.
“It’s not surprising, but I would be surprised that nobody saw her. That can happen, but it’s unusual,” Rhodus said.
Even when children aren’t in school, she said, someone often spots the signs of abuse.
“Schools and teachers are referral sources for us, but we do get a good number of referrals about preschool-age children, and many of them do come from family members,” Rhodus said.
Derhart said police are still investigating the allegations of sexual abuse.