New Orleans Boy Suffered Unthinkable Abuse, Put In Medically Induced Coma

A New Orleans child has been placed under a medically induced coma after authorities say he was brutally abused by his own mother and her live-in boyfriend. The Daily Mail reports that 37-year-old Heather Simpson and her 34-year-old boyfriend, Christian DeGregory, face abuse charges after the heartbreaking abuse was discovered. As if the horrifying injuries to this child aren’t enough to induce feelings of nausea, these two “responsible adults” also tried to blame the abuse on a much younger child.

Both Simpson and DeGregory face charges of child cruelty, which can see them locked up in prison for a maximum of 40 years. The Times-Picayune reports that the unnamed five-year-old boy suffered such extensive damage that he has been placed in a medically induced coma in hopes of stabilizing him while he heals from the various injuries he sustained. Authorities in New Orleans believe that the child suffered abuse over an undetermined length of time. However, it’s believed that the most severe injuries had been inflicted over a course of two weeks.

When the child was treated by medical professionals they noted that he was missing several entire fingernails and teeth. He was also covered in bite marks and bruises. Medical staff at New Orleans Children’s Hospital notified authorities, who confirmed that he had abdominal swelling, head trauma and swelling, and other various injuries. He reportedly “arrived in stable condition” to the hospital, but soon took a turn for the worst.

Heather Simpson’s boyfriend, Christian DeGregory (also reportedly spelled Cristian), called 911 when the child stopped breathing while having a seizure. Simpson was at work, as a stripper, when paramedics transported her brutally-abused son to the Children’s Hospital.

When police interviewed the woman and her boyfriend, they both reportedly tried to blame the extensive injuries on the child’s three-year-old little sister, who has also been removed from the home for her own safety. Simpson told authorities that she did not seek help for her son’s injuries, and he had not seen a doctor since February of 2013 — more than two years of his life. The New Orleans woman also blamed various injuries on the child “falling” in the bathtub and against a wall-mounted heater.

Both Simpson and DeGregory will have a bond hearing tomorrow, and are barred from having any contact with their alleged victim by court order. If they are convicted of second-degree cruelty to a child, their sentences could be quite lengthy. However, Simpson claims that she had left the child alone with DeGregory often in the past two weeks while she worked, indicating that she may blame him for the injuries.

[Photo: Orleans Parish mugshots/Simpson and DeGregory]