Stephanie May Whitier (Columbus Division of Police)
A 26-year-old mother in Ohio was arrested last week after she was allegedly witnessed injecting her 9-month-old daughter with an unknown substance that put the little girl in critical condition. Stephanie May Whitley was taken into custody Friday afternoon and charged with one count of felonious assault resulting in serious harm, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a press release from the Columbus Division of Police, officers on Friday, April 5 at about 11:31 a.m. responded to an emergency call regarding an infant in distress from suspected abuse at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, located in the 700 block of Children’s Drive. Officers with the department’s Special Investigations Bureau — Physical Child Abuse Unit were dispatched to the scene.
Upon arriving at the hospital, police say they were notified that Whitley and the child’s father were at the hospital with their 9-month-old daughter that morning when hospital staffers allegedly saw Whitley take out a syringe and inject the infant with a substance of unknown origin or purpose.
After the injection, the health of the baby — identified in the police report using the initials “K.S.” — quickly took a turn for the worse. By the time authorities reached the facility, hospital personnel allegedly said that medical staffers had been forced to perform life-saving measures on the infant and then check her into the intensive care unit.
According to a report from The Columbus Dispatch, prior to being admitted into the ICU, the victim went into cardiac arrest. Doctors reportedly performed toxicology tests on the child in an effort to determine what substance Whitley allegedly injected into her body but those results have not been made public.
Police took Whitley into custody later that day and booked her into the Franklin County Jail where she is currently being held without bond.
The child’s father, who was reportedly in the room at the time Whitley allegedly injected their child with the unknown substance, has not been charged in connection with the alleged assault.
Whitley is currently scheduled to appear before a judge in Franklin County Municipal Court for her preliminary hearing on May 15, records show.
Authorities have urged anyone with relevant information about the incident to contact the Columbus Police Special Investigations Child Abuse Unit at 614-645-4305 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS(8477).
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