Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – A Jonesboro woman who initially claimed she slipped in the snow while holding her young child is being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
Police said she admitted to throwing the boy in the air. She also said she accidentally struck him with a board during an argument.
According to an affidavit, on Jan. 24, a detective was called to St. Bernards for an injured child. There, he met 22-year-old Liberty Yates Thompson, who said that she had slipped and fallen in the snow while holding her son and dropped him onto some stairs. The affidavit also said the victim had several other bruises on his head, legs, and torso, all appearing to vary in age. He was sent to a Memphis hospital for further treatment.
The detective received the victim’s medical findings, stating the child had a skull fracture and brain bleed. The affidavit said it was the doctor’s opinion that the injuries sustained could not have taken place from a fall. Rather, they appeared to be the result of intentional abuse.
In a Mirandized interview, Thompson confessed that, while she did fall in the snow, she dropped the victim after throwing him approximately five to six feet in the air on Jan. 22, causing him to hit his head. Police said that, despite Thompson seeing swelling on the child’s head, she did not seek medical attention initially because she was on probation and afraid she would get in trouble.
The affidavit said Thompson also admitted to poking the victim in the chest too hard while she was upset, causing bruising to his chest. She also added that she threw a two-by-four during an argument with her boyfriend the same day, missing and striking the child in the head.
Thompson was arrested and booked into the Craighead County Detention Center on Jan. 28, according to the online jail roster. She appeared before District Judge David Boling on Jan. 30, who found probable cause to charge her with first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a class D felony, and first-degree domestic battering (serious physical injury), a class B felony.
In addition to the $250,000 bond, Thompson was ordered not to have contact with the victim, and she must wear a GPS ankle monitor upon release.
Thompson’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 27.
