Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Mom Covered Up Toddler Son's Horrific Abuse By Boyfriend: Prosecutor

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. A young mother is in jail accused of lying to cover up the abuse of her two-year-old son at the hands of her boyfriend. I have the details of the SAG case out of Madison County, Indiana with the county's prosecutor. Welcome to Crime Fix.

Starting point is 00:00:24 I'm Anjanette Levy. Kaitlyn Conrad is a mother to a two-year-old little boy and that little boy is fighting for his life in a hospital in Indianapolis. Conrad faces a charge of neglect of a dependent with a serious bodily injury for the injuries the boy suffered. The prosecutor says Conrad's boyfriend, Maverick Peterson, caused the injuries. Police were called to Riley's Children's Hospital on November 19th. The doctors and nurses were treating a two-year-old boy who had a skull fracture and couldn't open his eyes. Police said in an affidavit that the nurses and doctors told them the boy might not survive.

Starting point is 00:01:02 And if he did, he would never, ever be the same. He had bruises all over his body in different states of healing. Other injuries according to the police included a right foot bruise and abrasion on the bottom of the foot, a left leg bruise that has what appears to be a pattern injury to it that is consistent with a hand, penile bruising and laceration, right and left knee bruising, right and left arm bruising, left hand bruising, left elbow bruising, left collarbone bruising, lower back bruising, buttocks bruising, occipital erythema, which is swelling and redness of the head, and posterior skull abrasions. And finally, there was left chest bruising. That's a long list of injuries and

Starting point is 00:01:45 it pains me to read that to you. This was a two-year-old little boy. Police interviewed Kaitlyn Conrad and she explained how her son was injured. According to the affidavit, Kaitlyn stated that she was at work when she received a phone call from her sister and stated that her son and Maverick's daughter were running through the house. The girl, whose name is redacted, bumped into him, causing him to hit his chin on the fish tank and fell backwards. Caitlin was told to go to the hospital due to the boy being transported by ambulance. Maverick is the caregiver to her son while she is at work. Caitlin works from 3 p.m. to midnight. But police say these injuries are not consistent with Caitlin's

Starting point is 00:02:26 story. She continued when asked about the other injuries that her son suffered. The affidavit said, Caitlin stated while she was home, her son had hit his head the day prior on the fish tank. This resulted in getting a bump on his head above his right eye. I asked Caitlin about the bruise on his left leg that has a pattern injury consistent with a hand. Caitlin stated it must have happened when Maverick picked him up when he fell. When I asked Caitlin about the other bruising throughout his body, Caitlin stated that her son and Maverick's daughter play rough together. Now when asked about the injuries to the boy's genital area, she said he picked at it as he slept and she actually had to buy cream

Starting point is 00:03:05 for it. And there was more. The officer wrote, when I asked Caitlin about the bruising on both sides of his hips, Caitlin stated that she must have put the diaper on too tight because he's in pull-ups, but the store was out, so she had to buy diapers. The officer noted in the affidavit that Caitlin was calm and relaxed, not worried. But when police spoke with Maverick, they noted his voice crackled and his hands were shaking. He told a similar story about the boy hitting his head on the fish tank while playing with his daughter. Police said they found Facebook messages between Maverick and Caitlin Conrad from the night in which Maverick discussed the boy getting hurt. This was almost 48 hours before he was taken to the hospital.

Starting point is 00:03:48 Maverick said to Caitlin, who was going to work, that the boy had just bonked his head on the fish tank. There's a mark, but nothing worse than what he's had. Caitlin then responded, how the hell? Caitlin then said, I don't understand how he's so clumsy. Maverick then said they were running side by side and his daughter ran into him. Caitlin responded, well, at least they're playing nicely. A short time later, at 11.58 p.m., Maverick messages Caitlin. His bump on his head is

Starting point is 00:04:18 definitely poking out there. Immediately after this was, I'm out of cigs. Caitlin messages Maverick, see if we have any Tylenol you can give him. I'm sure his head hurts. Maverick's response was, yeah, it's def worse, meaning definitely worse than we have seen. And I shouldn't have jinxed it and said that. Caitlin responded with the F word. Maverick then said he didn't even hit hard. He hit it right though, apparently. Caitlin then said, didn't even hit hard he hit it right though apparently Caitlin then said well I guess it's better for it to come out than it was for it to go in Maverick Peterson's daughter was interviewed and talked about her dad being bad and spanking her with a wooden spoon in very graphic

Starting point is 00:04:58 detail I want to bring in Rodney Cummings he is the prosecutor of Madison County Indiana and he is handling this case Rodney Cummings. He is the prosecutor of Madison County, Indiana, and he is handling this case. Rodney, first of all, could you tell me if there are any updates on how this little boy is doing? I've not heard any since yesterday. And my the information we've received last is the child is still unconscious at a child children's hospital in Indianapolis. The allegations in this affidavit are just absolutely awful. I mean, this little boy, whose name is not being used because he's a crime victim, and he's a minor, suffered horrific abuse. I mean, we're talking burns on the feet, a brain bleed, severe skull fractures.

Starting point is 00:05:49 It sounds like he may not survive. Multiple skull fractures, bruising throughout his body, lacerations and injuries to his penis. I mean, it is just a classic case of abuse. And, you know, it's so sad when you think about what happens, the kind of horrors that so many of these children have to experience in our communities. It's, you know, there's no way to explain it. There's no way to understand it. I want to take a moment to tell you about Morgan & Morgan, which is sponsoring today's Law & Crime YouTube Takeover.

Starting point is 00:06:26 With the cases I cover here on Crime Fix, you know the world can be very dangerous. And if you are ever hurt, you might need a lawyer. Morgan & Morgan is America's largest injury law firm, and they can help you. Morgan & Morgan has won some really big verdicts, like $12.2 million in Florida, $26.2 million in Philly and $6.8 million in New York. All of those were significantly higher than the highest insurance company offer. There are no upfront fees. You only pay Morgan & Morgan if you win. So give it a try. You can submit a claim in eight clicks or less. Just log on to www.forthepeople.com slash YouTube takeover. It was noted in the affidavit that mom, Caitlin Conrad, was very

Starting point is 00:07:08 calm and relaxed as she's telling her story, being interviewed by law enforcement, but that Maverick Peterson, who's accused of causing the abuse of abusing the child, was very, his voice was cracking, his hands were shaking, he was very nervous. And I mean, a very marked difference in the reaction to being questioned by law enforcement. Do we think mom believed him? Or do we think she was just simply covering for him? What do you think? I mean, I don't know how she couldn't have noticed the injuries to her child she did this isn't like this just started on this day this abuse has been going on for some time and it's pretty clear from the investigation that she was more concerned about protecting her boyfriend than she was about protecting her child. She provided false information.

Starting point is 00:08:05 She deleted photographs from her telephone. Anything that, I mean, she said she was there when the first incident occurred the day before, what they call the first incident. I can't imagine it was. But she said she was in the home. She wasn't. She's just trying to provide cover for her boyfriend, not wanting him to be arrested or held accountable for his behavior. And that's the primary reason why she was charged as well. Right now, they're facing a charge of neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury. we always know that charges can be added.

Starting point is 00:08:47 The investigation, I assume, is ongoing. Yes, it is. And a lot of that is we're removing with the medical information. I mean, they have, you know, there's we have a high tech crime unit that will go through the telephones and get all the information and text messages and things out of there. We may get more information from that. But I think primarily it's the level of injury to this child that will affect what the ultimate charges will be filed. Right now, it's for Matt, for Maverick, it's neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and then obstruction of justice on having somebody come over to the house and remove all the drug paraphernalia out of the house. And primarily because she did not, she was more concerned about protecting her boyfriend than she was about protecting her child, which is something I can understand.

Starting point is 00:09:51 I mean, it seems to go against the nature of what women have, you know, the protection they should have for their children. I don't understand it. And I see it regularly. They're more concerned about trying to protect these guys that aren't worthy of their effort. It's just unbelievable to me. And we do see that, I mean, covering these cases as well. And it's absolutely awful. One thing that struck me in the affidavit as well and reading through it was the fact that Maverick Peterson's daughter, who they were saying ran into and was playing with the little boy and this is what caused the

Starting point is 00:10:32 injury. He's running into the fish tank and then, oh, they bumped into each other and they did this and all of this. But she was interviewed. There was a forensic interview done of her and she talked about what happened or what she witnessed but also talked about her dad being bad and that her dad had busted um these are her words this is a little girl saying he busted my ass i mean i can't even imagine a little girl saying something like this but it shows you maybe the environment she's living in with a wooden spoon. That's the language. She's repeating what she hears in that home regularly. He's probably you want me to bust your ass? You know, it's that kind of thing. And that's the language that these children grow up in. It's that said in itself as well. She, that little girl, the forensic interviewers,

Starting point is 00:11:27 it sounds like she said some things, according to the affidavit, where it sounded like she was saying that Maverick pushed the boy. I think the way I saw what was happening, my interpretation was that she was being interviewed. She said some things that were not in favor of her father. And I think she kind of backed off a little bit. Once she said it, it's like she realized what she was saying. She didn't want to get in trouble for saying those things and kind of backed off a little bit.

Starting point is 00:12:02 But it's pretty clear that she initially said that her father was abusing this child. There was also some information in there from people who were interviewed who said that Maverick Peterson had anger issues. So this is somebody, according to the investigation at least, who was being left with a two-year-old little boy for hours on end in the overnight hours or late at night. And then something was going on. So that just goes to show you how important it is to ensure you're surrounding your children with people who who are good people and who are who can handle children if the mother had upheld her obligation to this child he wouldn't have been left alone with her ever under any circumstances i mean it's not only did she have to know what was going on then once once she was aware of it, she tried to protect him. So,

Starting point is 00:13:06 you know, it seems this poor child was doomed from the beginning. How, do you know how the biological father of the little boy is doing right now? I saw that he was interviewed as part of the investigation as well. Yeah. I'm not aware. I think he had limited contact with this child in the months that moved forward. His explanation was that he was a pain child support, so she wouldn't let him see the child. So I'm sure he's devastated by what's happened,

Starting point is 00:13:38 but he wasn't even in a position where he could have seen what was happening. I mean mean had he had visitation more or seen a child more he might have been aware of these injuries and reported uh to the police and maybe we are not in this this circumstance but you know some of us don't push our rights as as much as we should and sometimes you know you don't understand what you can do you don't have the resources to do that i, he was entitled to see this child regardless of whether or not he was paying child support. That is a separate issue and he can be held accountable for that as well,

Starting point is 00:14:14 but that shouldn't limit his opportunity to see this child. So as far as the investigation goes, you'll be monitoring the little boy's condition, seeing if he does improve. And again, the nurses and doctors have said if he does pull through and if he does survive, he'll never be the same because of the damage his brain has suffered. Highly unlikely. I think the only thing that would change the direction of our prosecution is if the child dies. I mean, there aren't more serious offenses that this individual can be held accountable for unless the death of the child occurs. And we hope that does not happen. We certainly hope that doesn't happen. happen but as far as the investigation moving the charges that we have are the ones that are are appropriate for what has happened to this child unless hopefully this child survives but if not then that could enhance the penalties for this

Starting point is 00:15:21 just so sad it's so sad uh. Well, Rodney Cummings, any final thoughts? No, just please protect your kids. Any relationship you have should be secondary to protecting your children. I mean, I just don't understand why that's a conversation we need to have. But protect your kids. Please protect your kids. No doubt. Thank you so much, Rodney Cummings, Madison County Prosecutor, for coming on. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Mom Covered Up Toddler Son's Horrific Abuse By Boyfriend: Prosecutor

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Mom Covered Up Toddler Son's Horrific Abuse By Boyfriend: Prosecutor

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