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Ohio Stepmom Accused Of Scalding Toddler To Death As Punishment

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 13:58 PST, Mar 17, 2016

An Ohio stepmom has been arrested after the death of a child in her care has been ruled a homicide. CBS News reports that 25-year-old Anna Ritchie allegedly scalded the 4-year-old child with hot water as a form of punishment. This is what ultimately led to the child’s death, leading to homicide charges against the Ohio woman.

Authorities in Franklin, Ohio, say that Ritchie is the alleged victim’s stepmother. The fatal incident took place earlier this week when they were called to the home inhabited by the family. The 4-year-old boy was reportedly not breathing, which prompted the 911 call made by the boy’s father. When he called 911 he told dispatchers that he believed that his son was deceased.

“I think my son’s died. He got into a hot bath last night with my wife and she thought [unintelligible] OK. So, he said he wanted to go lay down in bed.”

KMOV 4 News reports that an autopsy was performed on the body of the 4-year-old child. The autopsy determined that the boy had severe burns on his legs, which were responsible for his demise. Toxicology reports are still pending in this child’s death.

Authorities believe that the child’s stepmother used scalding water as a method of punishment. However, the details surrounding this horrifying case of alleged child abuse are thin. The chief of the Franklin County Police Department provided comments for the media regarding the allegations against Ritchie.

“As a father and a grandfather, first what goes through my mind is that I can’t imagine what a four-year-old could have done to deserve something like that. It affects us personally. It affects the officers.”

HLN News reports that Anna Ritchie placed the boy’s legs in scalding water. However, no reports indicate whether or not the 4-year-old boy’s father was aware of what had actually happened.

This isn’t the first case of a child being scalded with hot water as a form of child abuse. Last year a Georgia grandmother was charged with second-degree murder after she allegedly scalded her 1-year-old grandchild in a hot bath. She was also charged with cruelty to a child and providing false statements to law enforcement. Also last year, an 18-year-old Michigan woman was charged with intentionally scalding a baby that was in her care. She was reportedly babysitting the 1-year-old infant when she held her down in a tub of hot water. Her reason for allegedly doing this? The baby had soiled her diaper.

Also last year, a Missouri man admitted in court to scalding a 3-year-old boy to death. Jerry Penticuff was sentenced to a decade of imprisonment on a conviction of second-degree child abuse. The sentence was part of a plea deal he had taken to avoid a more serious conviction.

In the case of the Ohio stepmom accused of killing the child in her care, there are still many details that have yet to be revealed. One question in particular surrounds whether or not the boy’s father was aware that he had allegedly been dunked in scalding water as a form of punishment. Hopefully, investigators can get to the total bottom of this case so that justice can be served.

[Photo: Franklin Police mugshot]

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