Parents Charged After 4-Month-Old Boy Taken to Hospital in Critical Condition

A Spotsylvania County, Virginia, couple is in custody after their 4-month-old infant was taken to the emergency room in critical condition.

On March 2, officials from Mary Washington Hospital contacted Spotsylvania County detectives regarding a baby boy in their care. Hospital workers said the baby boy arrived at the emergency room suffering from suspicious injuries. The injuries were so severe that he had to be airlifted to VCU Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Along with Virginia Child Protective Services, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office investigated the circumstances surrounding the baby’s condition. They interviewed the infant’s parents, 24-year-old Janine Heerick and 25-year-old Leonard Parker III, both from Spotsylvania County. Police also searched the couple’s home in the Salem Run Apartments, located on the 11900 block of Stansbury Lane.

On Tuesday evening, police arrested Heerick and Parker. There were six felony arrest warrants for each parent, and both were charged with several counts of felony child neglect and felony child cruelty. They are being held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.

The baby remains in very critical condition.

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