Police have charged a Virginia man with felony child abuse after they say he dipped his 9-month-old daughter in scalding hot water.
The child was brought to a Spotsylvania County emergency room April 21 with extensive immersion-type burns, The Free Lance-Star reported. She was stabilized and later transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond for advanced burn treatment.
William Robert Schmuhl, 24, was arrested on felony child abuse charges. He was ordered held without bond, according to a release from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office said Schmuhl and his girlfriend, the baby's mother, had been staying at a Super Value Inn in Spotsylvania County when the incident occurred.
Schmuhl, of no fixed address, will be represented by a public defender, said Capt. Jeff Pearce
Delphine Timberlake, the baby's maternal grandmother, told the Free Lance-Star that she already has custody of three of her daughter's children, all under the age of six. She plans to seek custody of the baby as well.
Sheriff Roger Harris said the investigation is continuing and authorities may bring additional charges against Schmuhl and anyone else who may have been involved.
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In 2013, Schmuhl was charged with injuring the same girlfriend's 4-month-old son, the Free Lance-Star reported. X-rays showed the child had multiple broken ribs, a broken arm and skull fractures. Those charges were later dropped, the Free Lance-Star said.
