A Gering man is facing a felony child abuse charge following an early Wednesday morning incident that left a one-year-old boy fighting for his life in a Colorado hospital.
31-year-old Tyler Green has been charged with knowing and intentional child abuse resulting in serious injury after an investigation by Gering Police.
In court records, authorities say officers and medical personnel were called to a home in the 2700 block of 21st Street around 12:45 a.m. on a report of a child coughing up blood, but before they arrived, the reporting party later identified as Green told dispatchers the child had gone limp and was unresponsive but breathing.
A Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s deputy says Green indicated the child had diarrhea and had made a mess on the floor and walls, and during a bath the boy started vomiting blood, at which time he called to the boy’s mother to come upstairs. The deputy reported his suspicions to investigators, telling them the scene in the home did not support what Green had told him.
An emergency room doctor at Regional West told officers the child suffered injuries that appeared intentional, including contusions and bruising to the face, lower back and chest, had bruising and blood in the lungs, a core body temperature of 82 degrees, and a hypoxic brain injury according to a CT scan. The boy was sent by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, with his current condition not immediately available.
Investigators say during their interview with the boy’s mother, she said the boy and three other children were put to bed after being fed Tuesday night, and that the adults then started drinking. The woman said Green was drinking whiskey heavily after having had an argument with his ex-wife earlier in the day, but she went to bed after two beers, only to be startled awake by Green screaming.
Green was ultimately taken to the Gering Police Department, where investigators say he was inconsistent discussing the timeline of the night, but he continued to maintain the child had soiled himself and was placed in the bathtub. Green told officers the child was unsupervised for about 45 minutes, during which time he went outside to smoke and then check on the other children, only to find the boy bleeding when he returned, and he called out for the child’s mother.
A March 28th preliminary hearing was set for Green during an initial appearance in Scotts Bluff County Court Wednesday afternoon, and bond was set at $1 million with a ten percent provision.
