ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, MO (KFVS) - A couple from Park Hills, Missouri is behind bars for allegedly abusing their son who was less than two weeks old at the time.
According to court documents, Derick Boyce-Slezak, 22, and Mikala Boyce-Slezak, 22, each face a felony charge of abuse or neglect of a child.
The baby was taken to the emergency room at a St. Louis hospital for treatment of a rash on his face on April 11, according to the probable cause statement.
Doctors determined the infant had a first-degree burn on his left cheek, a second-degree burn on his scalp, a skull fracture, and a small hematoma.
The parents claimed that the burns were caused by a cleaning agent.
During a court proceeding on Nov. 27, Mikala Boyce-Slezak told investigators that someone accidentally cleaned her son's face with a towel that contained a bleach-type disinfectant, according to the probable cause statement. When asked about the head injuries and bruises on her son's body, Mikala invoked her fifth amendment rights.
Derick Boyce-Slezak did not testify during the court hearing.
Later during that same proceeding, an employee of the Children's Division testified that Mikala told her previously that she wanted to testify that the head wounds were "a result of Derick dropping him while trying to imitate what he saw on a t.v. commercial." The investigator said that Mikala also claimed that she had reason to believe Derick placed their weeks old son in the microwave and turned it on for a short period of time.
Both Derick and Mikala Boyce-Slezak are being held on $500,000 bond. They are both scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 5.
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