Left: Savannah Cox. Right: Shane Moore (Rome Police Department).
A couple from Georgia, a mother, and a father, are being charged with child cruelty almost a year after it was found that their 6-month-old baby had 29 broken bones in her body.
Authorities in Rome, a town close to the Appalachian Mountains about 70 miles north of Atlanta, detained Savannah Carol-Louise Cox and Shane Avery Moore last week. A police report, disclosed by Atlanta Fox affiliate WAGA and ABC affiliate WSB, revealed that Cox and her mother brought the baby to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center on Feb. 7. The hospital alerted the police because the baby had a broken femur and facial bruises. Subsequent examinations unveiled a shocking 29 fractures on the infant, including in her ribs, legs, and arms.
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Nurses later told detectives that Cox and her mother kept changing their story about how the injuries occurred.
Initially, they claimed the child had fallen. But later, they raised questions with hospital staff about the possibility of someone “dropping her,” as per reports. Eventually, Cox mentioned that she had taken the baby for a doctor’s appointment on the same day and implied that the broken leg might have occurred there. She asserted that she noticed her daughter’s injuries a few hours after the appointment and decided to seek medical help.
Doctors, however, determined the injuries were in various stages of healing. Cops and the Department of Family and Children’s Services took custody of the girl and her sister. Cox, her parents and Moore lived together in the home with the two children when the injuries allegedly occurred. After about a year of investigating, police arrested Cox and Moore on Thursday.
In addition to child cruelty, they are also facing an aggravated battery charge. It appears the couple has since bonded out of the Floyd County Jail. Officials did not provide an update as to the status of the injured child.
