From left: James Lamb, Aireal Cole and Derrick Barnby (Adair County Jail).
Three individuals in Missouri are currently in custody during the Christmas period as authorities discovered a 4-year-old girl under their supervision in a state of unconsciousness and extreme malnourishment.
James Calhoun Lamb, 29, Derrick Eugene Barnby, 25, and Aireal Cole, 23, each face child abuse or neglect charges.
Officials in Kirksville, a small town in north-central Missouri with a population of less than 20,000, initiated an investigation on December 11. This was prompted by the hospitalization and subsequent air transfer of the girl to a hospital in St. Louis, located about 200 miles away, as stated in an arrest affidavit based on probable cause.
The three suspects live together in the same home.
Medical professionals observed multiple injuries on the girl, including brain bleeding, bruises, and a notable change in her mental condition. Furthermore, the child displayed indicators of neglect, with medical experts determining that she was severely underweight and had numerous cavities in her teeth, according to the affidavit. Although Lamb attributed the injuries to a fall down the stairs a few days earlier, doctors who assessed the girl found inconsistencies in this explanation.
“The report went on to say stair falls do not usually cause major head trauma and it would be unusual for the brain injury to take over a week to develop,” cops wrote. “Stair falls do not usually cause extensive bruising like she had and the torso bruising is concerning for abuse.”
Lamb reportedly claimed that after the girl suffered the fall, he called his mother who is a “medical professional” who told him to treat the girl’s pain with Tylenol and Motrin. In another interview post Miranda, Lamb said he “had anger issues but he was angry at himself for being a failure and he never took his anger out on anybody else,” according to the affidavit.
Lamb could provide no other explanation for the girl’s injuries beyond her falling down the stairs. He is a risk to the child, cops concluded.
“She has suffered a multitude of severe and life-threatening issues while under his care,” the affidavit said. “Furthermore, she suffers from severe malnutrition and severely decayed teeth which is from being neglected and not properly cared for.”
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Authorities also removed a 1-year-old child from the home who had “severe diaper rash that was consistent with neglect,” according to the court document. Barnby and Cole also were responsible for the both kids’ care and failed in that regard, authorities claimed.
All three defendants are being detained at the Adair County Jail without bond. They have a court date scheduled for Friday.
