Dominique Lawrence, 18, stood before a judge on Saturday. She listened to the litany of serious injuries authorities allege she caused to her own seven-month-old daughter. Lawrence is charged with injury to a child, and so is Daylan Johnson, 25. He is the baby's father. Both are accused of causing severe injury.
"They found the child had fractures to both sides of her skull," explained Traci Bennett, a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney's Office. "She had a fractured femur and there was some evidence of possible suffocation based on some injuries that they saw with the brain. There was also bleeding on the brain and there were also minor injuries such as scratches."
The Harris County DA's office says the child's injuries happened over a period of time. The little girl was taken by her parents to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital last week on September 1. Authorities say the parents allege the child was lethargic and had loss of appetite, so they decided to seek medical care. Authorities say despite the life-threatening injuries, the parents did not call 911.
Bennett said, "They took the bus to take the child to the hospital instead of calling 911. They were thinking about concerns about CPS. The way they took METRO it took three to four hours before they were able to get the child to the hospital."
Lawrence and Johnson are both being held under $50,000 bond. Both are charged with felony injury to a child.
CPS has custody of the little girl. She was once on life support, but is now listed as stable, and able to breathe on her own.
