An Indiana woman allegedly erroneously stabbed her one-year-old niece after her pitbull jacked her Burger King chicken sandwich. She’s now behind bars.
The incident occurred at a Days Inn Hotel in Castleton, Indiana, on Sept. 19. Sharon Key’s niece was reportedly lying on the bed while her mother bathed her brother in the bathroom. The woman allegedly aimed the knife at the dog after it nabbed her food and “accidentally” stabbed her baby niece, hitting the girl in the face and neck. Upon hearing her daughter scream, Key’s sister ran out of the hotel’s bathroom to find her baby girl screaming as blood soaked the bed. The woman’s sister frantically explained the alleged stabbing was an accident before running out of the room, leaving the worried mother to seek emergency help for her injured baby.
Indianapolis Metro Police Department (IMDP) verified the mother’s story with surveillance camera footage it obtained. A cowardly Key would later be found hiding in the bushes at the Days Inn. The one-year-old was in critical condition before being upgraded to stable condition at Riley Hospital, according to Law and Crime.
William Young, a police officer for the IMPD, expressed how distressing the officers who received the call were.
“All of our officers, you hear that come across the radio, your heart drops. You want to get here as soon as you can. A lot of our officers, paramedics, fire — they have children that are infants, so you could imagine when they arrive, what our officers go through.”
The aunt’s sister revealed that Key had been staying with the woman and her children at the Days Inn. Key has also battled with drug addiction and mental health issues and reportedly had been drinking alcohol for most of the day the stabbing occurred.
The embattled woman was charged with two counts of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and one count of negligence of a dependent that resulted in serious bodily harm. If convicted, the first count “carries a maximum penalty of two-and-a-half years in prison and a $10,000 fine.”
The second charge’s punishment varies by the level of severity.
