INDIANA, Pa. – A western Pennsylvania couple attempted to cover up the severe abuse of a 6-year-old who refused to take his medicine by waiting more than five hours to get medical help and lying to doctors and investigators about how he suffered his injuries, police said.
Brandon Green, 26, of White Township, is accused of kicking the boy in the stomach and face, squeezing him until he threw up and then concocting the story about the boy falling down the stairs in an attempt to avoid suspicion.
The boy was so seriously injured — with injuries to his liver, pancreas and intestines requiring surgery — doctors told police it looked as if he had been in a car wreck. The boy's mother initially said he accidentally fell down the stairs and didn't show signs of injury until hours later, police said.
Stephanie Green was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and other offenses. Brandon Green has been jailed on the same charges since March 5, the day after the alleged beating.
They are being held in lieu of $150,000 bail. Online court records do not list lawyers who are able to comment on the charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 14.
He has a criminal record that includes guilty pleas to driving under the influence, theft, burglary and trespassing, authorities said.
After passing her husband's lie, Stephanie Green eventually confessed and told investigators her husband had beaten the boy and that he had pushed, shoved and yelled at her in the past, police said.
"I was doing everything I could do that night to protect Brandon," she told police, according to a criminal complaint. "That's why I didn't want to go to the hospital."
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