Warrensburg woman facing charges for allegedly abusing child

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Warrensburg, Missouri woman is facing charges for allegedly abusing her child.

Johnson County, Missouri prosecutors last week charged Ashley Wallender with first-degree domestic assault, abuse or neglect of a child and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to court documents, Warrensburg police officers responded to a home on June 27, regarding a child abuse investigation regarding a child under the age of one.

When officers arrived at the home they could see the victim had extensive bruising in different stages of healing and what appeared to be a burn mark from a cigarette on the thigh, according to court documents.

Wallender stated that the child had not been feeling good and had been throwing up and had made an appointment that morning but was unable to go due to having no ride. It was later confirmed that Wallender was a no call no show for the appointment, according to court documents.

She said the child had fallen off the bed, that was 1 1/2 feet tall, two days before and that’s what caused the bruises.

When asked about the scratches and cuts on the child, Wallender stated that a vase had broke on the floor and she must have missed some small shards of glass when she swept, according to court documents. Wallender agreed to take the child to the hospital to be checked out.

At the hospital, court documents say medical staff notated extensive bruising on the child, along with three burn marks, two bruised human bite marks and several puncture sites on the soles of the child’s feet. The child was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital for a full screening.

The scan clinic at Children’s Mercy contacted detectives and advised they were diagnosing the child with physical abuse.

Court documents say Wallender has denied any knowledge of physical abuse to the child and further stated that she thought the bruising that she could see was from falling off of the bed. When asked about the other bruising and marks on the child, she denied seeing anything else and was adamant that she did not cause the injuries.

Wallender was booked into jail with a bond set at $50,000. She had an initial court appearance on Wednesday, July 3, where a not guilty plea was entered.

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