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Left to right: Kami Nelson and Lee E. O’Donnell Jr. (Henry County Sheriff’s Office).
An Indiana mother and her partner face serious allegations of bringing a 3-year-old girl to the brink of death, purportedly inflicting such severe abuse that the child was left with bruises covering most of her body.
Court records indicate that Kami Nelson, 23, and Lee E. O’Donnell Jr., 25, have been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, as well as neglect leading to serious bodily harm.
The troubling case emerged after a distress call in the early hours of March 25, when authorities were summoned to an Airbnb on Broad Street in New Castle, following reports of a child found unresponsive, according to The Star Press reported.
First responders arrived to discover the toddler in a critical state, unclothed and struggling to breathe. Investigative reports detailed by the Star Press describe the child as being “black and blue with bruises nearly all over her bare body,” appearing to be the victim of a brutal beating, as per the probable cause affidavit.
Despite the dire scene, emergency crews administered vital medical interventions before transporting the girl to a nearby hospital. She was subsequently flown to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where medical professionals confirmed the injuries were significantly more severe than initially assessed.
Medical staff reported the child was “critically ill” and “in shock” after suffering severe abdominal trauma that required emergency surgery, The Courier-Times reported. According to hospital findings, the girl sustained lacerations and tears to her intestines, internal bleeding, and acute kidney injury requiring dialysis.
“The report indicated there were no signs of a medical condition contributing to these nor is there a medical condition that would cause spontaneous injury to the intestines as seen in Juvenile Victim 1,” investigators wrote in the affidavit.
“Without medical intervention, these findings would likely have been fatal and Juvenile Victim 1 still remains in critical condition with a guarded prognosis. The only accidental history provided at this time by caregivers is that the child sleepwalks, which would not be consistent with these abdominal injuries,” the document continued. “At this time, Juvenile Victim 1’s overall constellation of findings including . . . diffuse bruising, soft tissue injuries, and abdominal injuries is characteristic of non accidental/inflicted trauma (child physical abuse).”
As detectives began piecing together what led to the injuries, Nelson allegedly had initially told police her daughter had been sleepwalking and may have been “walking into door handles and similar items.” She also claimed the child had been sick and vomiting in the days leading up to the incident and said she delayed seeking medical care because she had just started a new job and lacked insurance.
O’Donnell, who had been caring for the children while Nelson worked, reportedly gave a starkly different account while showing “little to no emotion” during his interview with detectives.
He told investigators Nelson had a volatile temper and described her as a “manipulative liar,” alleging she would become physical with the child “once a day, multiple times a day sometimes.” He also claimed he witnessed her strike the child and grab her face while she was eating.
According to investigators, O’Donnell admitted he was reluctant to report the alleged abuse “because I don’t want to end up homeless.”
Nelson, for her part, initially denied O’Donnell could have caused the injuries but later changed her account, telling police she believed he may have been responsible and was trying to “save himself.”
Authorities said both suspects ultimately blamed one another for the child’s condition.
Investigators also uncovered additional troubling details inside the rental home and reportedly found drug paraphernalia and a second young child staying at the residence at the time.
O’Donnell was arrested after allegedly failing to appear for a scheduled polygraph test on March 27. He was stopped on Interstate 70 later that day and taken into custody. Nelson was arrested the same day the child was discovered.
The toddler reportedly remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries while both defendants are being held in the Henry County Jail on $191,000 surety bonds, records show. They are scheduled to return to court for pretrial hearings on June 11.