COVINGTON, La. (AP) - A 40-year-old Lacombe woman faces charges in connection with the death of a 22-month-old foster child who had been placed in her care.
Meanwhile, the state family services department says it has launched an investigation and placed staff on leave.
Authorities said Trenique Faciane (treh-NEEK’ fah-SHAHN’) had already been booked on a count of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile after she told detectives she used a hairbrush to beat the little girl.
The child died after being taken to a hospital. George Bonnett (bah-NET’), a spokesman for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, said Friday that authorities were seeking a warrant on a more serious charge.
St. Tammany Coroner Charles Preston identified the child as Madison Parrott, whose biological mother lives in Bogalusa.
Paramedics took the child to the Louisiana Heart Hospital on Thursday after receiving a 911 call from Faciane’s home reporting that the little girl was vomiting and unresponsive. The child later died at another hospital south of Lake Pontchartrain.
Medical staff found her injuries suspicious and called the Sheriff’s Office. Detectives spoke to Faciane at the hospital and brought her in for questioning, at which time she admitted beating and shaking the child, Bonnett said. Detectives, who got a search warrant for Faciane’s home, took the brush and other items. They then obtained a warrant for her arrest.
WDSU-TV reports (https://bit.ly/1IREyFD) that the child’s mother, Mindy Parrot, had completed court-ordered counseling and was close to reuniting with the child. Her attorney, Bill Arata, said Mindy Parrot had alerted state workers to the possibility of abuse.
“The problem I’ve got is she brought this to their attention over and over and over again,” he said.
State authorities issued a statement indicating the matter is under investigation and that at least one staff member is on administrative leave with pay, according to WVUE-TV (https://bit.ly/1IREyFD).
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