A woman from South Carolina was arrested by authorities after she deliberately tried to kill her 1-year-old son by setting the car on fire while the child was still inside.
Victim in critical condition due to injuries
Columbia police immediately arrested Caylin Watson after the authorities alleged that she tried to kill her 1-year-old son intentionally. According to WTOC 11, the authorities found the vehicle close to mile marker 1 on I-126 West on May 16 at 1:30 p.m.
When the woman set the car ablaze, there were four witnesses in the area and the called 911. There were people on the scene who tried to save the 1-year-old in the car but couldn't because of the heat.
Skip Holbrook, the police chief of Columbia, said in a statement that the first responders saved the child from the vehicle and rushed the 1-year-old to the hospital as he has severe burns all over his body. The child is in a critical condition at Augusta Burn Center in Augusta.
Authorities arrested and detained the 23-year-old mother and took her to the hospital to treat her minor injuries. She was charged with arson, abuse of a child, and attempted murder. Watson was denied to post bail and remains at the Columbia jail.
Similar Incident
In November 2018, a 27-year-old man was arrested for abusing and murdering his 5-year-old son. The police report stated that he used a heated spoon to burn the palm of the boy as a punishment for opening tins of milk powder that was meant for his siblings.
The suspect, Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman told forensic psychiatrist Cheow Enquan that he also beat his wife whenever they have a disagreement but he tried to refrain from hitting her so his anger was redirected towards his son.
Dr. Cheow said that the suspect does not have an intermittent explosive disorder or IED like what he previously claimed. The Institute of Mental Health or IMH forensic psychiatrist took the stand on the day of Ridzuan's trial and ruled out the possibility of him having a mental disorder. According to the police, Ridzuan and his wife, Azlin Arujunah, scalded the boy to death.
Both of them took turns in splashing hot water on the child. Each of the suspects faced charges related to other abusive acts including pinching him with a pair of pliers, putting him in a pet cage, and hitting him with a broom.
The lawyers of Ridzuan have submitted a report stating that he has three psychiatric disorders which involve aggressive and sudden outbursts.
Statistics on child abuse
There are more than 3.6 million referrals made to child protection agencies every year that involves more than 6.6 million children.
The United States has one of the worst records in child abuse cases as 4 to 7 children are lost due to child abuse and neglect. There are child abuse reports made every 10 seconds.
In 2014 alone, numerous state agencies found over 702,000 victims of child maltreatment, and one study reported that 80% of 21-year-old who experienced childhood abuse has at least one psychological disorder.
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