Kentucky foster mom who allegedly poured hot liquid on baby faces new abuse charge

A baby who was burned at a Central Kentucky McDonald’s had been previously injured, according to a sheriff and new indictments against two Mount Sterling foster parents.

A 10-month-old baby suffered extensive burns when his foster mother allegedly poured hot chocolate on his head at the McDonald’s, police said last month. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Monday the child also suffered previous injuries.

Police were initially told that the mother fell and spilled the hot chocolate on her baby, but surveillance footage showed that the mom, Ashley Neal, pretended to fall, police said.

The video shows Neal, who was carrying the child against her chest in an infant carrier, pour the hot chocolate with her right hand on the baby’s head, take several more steps, attempt to fall and brace herself with the same right hand, according to police. The baby was hospitalized after the 150-degree liquid was poured on his head, according to court records.

The baby, who Neal was foster parenting with her husband, Ronnie Neal, also “sustained several injuries over a multiple-month period,” according to the sheriff.

The parents failed to get medical treatment for the child and at times covered up the injuries to prevent others, including social services, from seeing it, the sheriff’s office said.

Ashley Neal, 33 and Ronnie Neal, 28, were indicted on first-degree criminal abuse charges, according to the sheriff’s office. The felony charge is punishable by 5 to 10 years imprisonment.

A woman who claims she is the boy’s grandmother said she now has custody of the child. She did not disclose the child’s current condition.

“They hurt my grandson when he was removed from my home and placed in the system,” Crystal Campbell-Sons said on Facebook. “He came to a visit with an adult handprint in the middle of his back.”

This story was originally published December 24, 2019 at 9:22 AM.