JOPLIN, Mo. —
A neighbor of two Joplin women accused of starving a 3-year-old girl to a point near death expressed surprise Wednesday at learning the child’s age from news reports.
Angel Haynes said her family thought the girl was just a baby when her mother, Beth Williams, and her roommate, Christina Haidle, moved into the house at 1407 S. Pennsylvania Ave. about a year ago. Haynes said Williams was always carrying her daughter whenever she saw them leaving their house or returning.
“She looked like an infant to me,” Haynes said. “When I found out she was almost 4, I said: ‘No way.’”
Haynes said Williams and her daughter, and Haidle and her son, who she described as being about 4 years of age, moved into the house two to three months after the tornado on May 22 of last year. Haynes said it was her understanding that they previously lived in the Oak Meadows apartment complex on 15th Street that was badly damaged by the storm.
Williams, 26, and Haidle, 27, have been charged with first-degree child endangerment for an alleged failure to feed Williams’ daughter adequately.
Court records show that Haidle was convicted on a misdemeanor count of child endangerment in 2004 in Newton County. She was assessed a suspended sentence, and was placed on probation and required to complete parenting classes. The probation later was revoked, and she was required to serve two weeks in jail. Both women have misdemeanor convictions in Jasper County for passing bad checks.
Authorities say the girl was unresponsive, barely breathing and weighed a mere 12 pounds, 9 ounces on July 1 when Williams took her to the emergency room of Mercy Hospital in Joplin. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered before the child was flown to a Springfield hospital and placed in critical care. She later was diagnosed as suffering from chronic malnutrition.
The girl’s grandfather, Dana Williams, told The Associated Press that he does not believe the girl was being starved. He said she “has always been small since she was born.”
“I know my daughter loves that baby with all her heart, and I know she wouldn’t do anything to hurt her,” Williams said.
He said the last time he got together with his daughter and granddaughter was Thanksgiving, when his daughter fixed a typical holiday meal. The girl appeared healthy and well-fed at that time, and showed a big appetite, he said.
According to a probable-cause affidavit, the girl gained three pounds her first four days in the hospital and two more pounds in the first week of placement with a foster family.
Crime & Courts
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Beth Williams
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Christina Haidle
Discussion
3-year-old girl seemed like infant to neighbors
Mother’s roommate has previous conviction for child endangerment
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