NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Lyndsey Bustamante and Andrew Garasich, a couple at Fort Campbell who are both 27, were charged with aggravated child neglect.
On Jan. 4, Bustamante took her child to Houston County Community Hospital and claimed that the baby was burned due to a bath given by Garasich.
Once the baby was brought to the hospital, it was immediately transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. The baby was put into the pediatric intensive care unit with a skull fracture and second and third-degree burns.
The baby underwent several medical procedures and surgeries and was treated for organ failure and other life-threatening conditions.
There are no federal child abuse statutes in the state of Tennessee. However under the Assimilative Crimes Act, the U.S. can charge them with a felony account of aggravated child neglect since the incident happened on a military base, which is a jurisdiction of the federal government.
The two are scheduled to appear before a judge Wednesday. If they are convicted of the charges, they will face a mandatory minimum time is 15 years in prison.
