
On the night of January 5th, Phoenix Police and Paramedics were called to a room at the Phoenix Inn on a call for an unresponsive toddler.
When they arrived, paramedics declared that the 1 month old infant was deceased.
The parents, 29 year old Emmaline Amelia Ramirez and 38 year old Donald Ferguson, parents of five, claimed that the child had earlier been choking, but that they had administered CPR on several occasions but sought no further medical attention.
The children, ages 1 month, 15 months, 4 and 6 years, were all transported for medical evaluation. Upon examination, the 15 month old child was found to have multiple skull fractures.
The surviving 1 month old who was beginning to show signs of having difficulty breathing at the scene was transported to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center where it was discovered that he had traumatic brain injuries and brain bleeds. The child was then transferred to Phoenix Children's Hospital for emergency treatment.
His condition at the time of this writing is not known.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety has taken custody of the remaining three children.
Ferguson denied ever hitting the children, but did admit that he would hit Ramirez. Reportedly, when he would do so, the children would cry and hide under the bed.
It is reported that the 4 year old later told police that he saw "Dada" throw the infant to the ground. All of the children there were observed with "a lice infestation, covered in dirt, extremely soiled diapers, and insects crawling out of their ears."
The autopsy report on the infant didn't find any fatal traumatic injuries, but medical testing is still ongoing.
Court documents show that Ramirez has been previously charged with child abuse.
Ramirez and Ferguson were both arrested on January 7th and taken to the Maricopa County Jail. They are in custody awaiting their arraignments which are scheduled for tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning.
Both Ramirez and Ferguson have been charged with two counts of abuse with intent, and Ferguson faces an additional charge of resisting arrest according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Ramirez's bond was set at $2,500 and Ferguson's has been set at $75,000.
According to court records, it appears as though there may be an additional five charges of child abuse with intent filed against both of them.