KOKOMO — The father a 9-year-old girl and his girlfriend are accused of physically abusing the child and neglecting her to the point she became malnourished.
Tracy A. Seats, 32, the girl's father, and Amy D. Smith, 38, were charged in an investigation opened after she came to school malnourished and bruised, court records show.
Kokomo police detectives began their investigation when they were called to a local hospital for a report of child abuse. The girl was taken to the hospital after she arrived to school looking malnourished and with marks and bruises all over her body, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The girl was so thin she had several bones protruding and she weighed just 48.51 pounds. She also hadn't bathed recently and was wearing dirtied and stained clothes, according to the affidavit.
When asked about her bruising, the girl told an Indiana Department of Child Services worker that Seats and Smith took turns beating her with a belt and that Seats grabbed her by her throat, choked her, held her against a wall, and slammed her head into a door. The girl also said Seats acted like he was going to hit her in the head with a hammer, scaring her to the point she urinated.
A medical examination found the girl had bruises and abrasions on both her knees and several bruises on her neck, the right side of her thigh area, left upper thigh, right hip and stomach area, and chin, according to the affidavit.
A police officer who had spoken earlier with Tracy said he commented on the girl's bruises but then changed his story, stating he didn't know anything about it. He also said he and Smith had both spanked the girl as a form of discipline, the affidavit alleges.
Seats was also charged in 2019 with neglect in a separate investigation.
Seats and Smith are both charged with one count each of domestic battery with serious bodily injury, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and domestic battery with bodily injury. Seats also faces a count of intimidation using a deadly weapon and strangulation. All charges are felonies.
Seats and Smith are scheduled to appear before a jury Sept. 30 in Howard Superior Court.
-
Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell selected for WNBA All-Star Game
Mitchell joins teammates Caitlin Clark, who has been tapped to be a captain, and Aliyah Boston, who has been named a starter, making it three players representing the Fever.
Caddying for college: Local teen earns life-changing scholarship
One prestigious program is helping students pay for college, including for one Indy high school grad who caddied her way to a full-ride scholarship.
2 shot, 1 killed on near northeast side of Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — A double shooting on the near northeast side of Indianapolis early Sunday morning has left one person dead, according to police.
Azura Stevens' double-double lifts Sparks over Fever 89-87
The Los Angeles Sparks won at Indianapolis for the second time in nine days, defeating the Fever, minus Caitlin Clark, 89-87 on Saturday night.
