A Fayette district judge found probable cause Tuesday to send a child-abuse case to a grand jury.
Eric A. Kirik, 38, and Chaum Lee Kirik, 32, of Lexington are both charged with first-degree criminal abuse involving a 6-month-old child.
Lexington police brought the charges after the state took custody of three children — ages 2, 18 months and 6 months — from the Kiriks in late January, and police had Kentucky Children's Hospital examine the kids.
During a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Lexington police detective James S. Root testified that the Kiriks and their children had been staying at the Salvation Army since just before Christmas. Root was called to investigate the bruising on the side of the 2-year-old's face.
The hospital examinations determined that the 2-year-old and 18-month-old suffered from malnutrition, while the 18-month-old and the 6-month-old suffered broken bones, Root testified.
The bruising on the 2-year-old's face didn't rise to the level of criminal abuse, Root said. The broken bones in the 18-month-old already were healing, he said.
The criminal-abuse charges against the couple stem from a broken leg bone in the 6-month-old, Root said.
A doctor told Root that the 6-month-old had suffered a "buckle fracture" of the femur, the largest bone in the body that extends from the hip to the knee.
The injury would have happened when someone pulled the leg and twisted, Root said he was told by the doctor.
"The amount of pain that the child would have had would be significant," Root testified.
In his interview with Chaum Kirik, Root said she didn't see anything related to the 6-month-old's injury and didn't do anything to cause it. Chaum Kirik told Root that Eric Kirik primarily took care of the 6-month-old.
Root said that when he specifically asked Chaum Kirik "who did this?" to the 6-month-old, she said, "I don't know."
Eric Kirik acknowledged that he and his wife were both drug addicts, but he eventually chose not to speak to police without an attorney, Root said.
Fayette District Judge Kim Wilkie found probable cause to send the case to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Wilkie did not reduce the $5,000 bonds on each of the Kiriks. The couple was being held at the Fayette County Detention Center. The judge read in open court an extensive criminal history on Eric Kirik from Kenton County and Florida, including parental abuse, burglary, grand theft and escape.
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