By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
Eighteen-month-old Ada Bowman never regained consciousness before dying Saturday morning in a Kansas City hospital, according to the Newton County sheriff.
Sheriff Ken Copeland said she had been on life support since being revived by emergency medical technicians Tuesday night at her home in the Bykota Mobile Home Park southeast of Joplin and being transported to the hospital, Copeland said. An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted Saturday in Kansas City.
The sheriff said the girl’s mother, Gina L. Salazar, 22, was permitted to see her daughter a few hours after her death.
“We made arrangements for her to see the child one last time,” Copeland said.
A court order had prohibited Salazar from seeing the girl while she was still alive and being treated at the hospital. On Thursday, felony charges of endangerment of the girl’s life and hindering prosecution in a child-abuse investigation were filed against her, but she had yet to be arrested.
Kansas City police placed her under arrest about noon Saturday after she’d been given the chance to see her daughter, Copeland said. He said a sheriff’s investigator would be bringing her back to Newton County later in the day.
The mother’s boyfriend, Bryant L. Sykes Jr., 24, is accused of having caused the girl’s injuries, which included hemorrhaging on both sides of the brain and damage to her liver, spleen and ribs.
Sykes has been jailed since Wednesday, charged with first-degree assault. The sheriff said an upgrading of the charge will be sought in the wake of the girl’s death.
“We will be requesting a second-degree murder charge against him from the prosecutor,” he said.
Crime & Courts
Girl dies; mother arrested in abuse case
Murder charge being sought on mother’s boyfriend
- Crime & Courts
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Firefighters douse blaze inside wall; no injuries cited
The Joplin Fire Department used thermal-imaging equipment Wednesday night to detect a hidden fire inside a residence.
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Exeter resident hurt in accident in Barry County
An Exeter resident was injured in a single-vehicle accident at 2:15 p.m. Thursday on Missouri Highway 76, two miles west of Exeter in Barry County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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Pittsburg couple arrested; children taken out of home
PITTSBURG, Kan. — A Pittsburg couple was arrested and their three children removed from their care Wednesday when narcotics officers allegedly seized marijuana, methamphetamine and other items in a search of their home.
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Joplin man arrested on felony charge of past sexual abuse
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Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
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Attorney general files suit against California contractor
Attorney General Chris Koster on Thursday filed a lawsuit against a California man, alleging he failed to provide construction materials and home repair services that had been paid for by victims of the Joplin tornado.
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Pierce City man hurt in accident in Barry County
A Pierce City man was injured in a single-vehicle accident at 7 a.m. Wednesday on Missouri Highway 248, two miles west of Jenkins in Barry County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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Woman to stand trial on felony count of child abuse
A rural Joplin woman waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday on a felony count of child abuse related to the alleged bruising of her 12-year-old daughter’s buttocks and arms.
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Fire destroys garage, two vehicles inside
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — A Tuesday night fire that destroyed a garage and two vehicles at an address south of Carl Junction may have had an electrical cause.
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Worker hit in head with saw blade at construction site
A worker at a construction site in Webb City suffered a severe injury Wednesday when he was struck in the head by a blade from a power saw.
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