Ashley Buckman and her boyfriend James Edwards -- in jail after Buckman's 4-year-old daughter died Thursday night -- had no prior contact with Child Protective Services before their arrests last week.
Toryn Buckman was pronounced brain-dead when she was brought to Phoenix Children's Hospital on Wednesday night, after what Edwards told police was five or six months of abuse against the girl. She died on Thursday.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, the girl had injuries to her face, mouth, neck, chest, torso, back, and arms, including burns on her buttocks, genitals, legs, and hands, as well as several broken ribs and ripped-off nipples.
And Buckman just had another kid.
At her initial court appearance, before she received word that Toryn had died, she told a judge that she had a 5-month-old kid as well.
According to information released by CPS, the agency took that kid from the home and placed the youngster in foster care.
A Phoenix police spokesman told New Times last week that Buckman herself was a victim of child abuse when she was younger. That may be an indication as to why family members weren't sought out to take care of the new kid.
There aren't any indications that the younger kid was abused by either Buckman or Edwards.
In case you missed the details of what they're accused of doing to Buckman's older kid, though, we'll post those below:
When authorities arrived at Buckman's and Edwards' Phoenix apartment Wednesday, they noticed an "obvious pattern injury consistent to a clothes hanger throughout her body," in addition to the other injuries.
Phoenix police Sergeant Tommy Thompson said homicide investigators were handling this case from the get-go, adding that some of the long-time investigators are saying this is one of the worst child-abuse cases they've ever seen.
Buckman admitted to beating her daughter with said clothes hanger, as well as smacking her daughter in the mouth, assaulting her daughter for "disciplinary reasons over an extended period of time," and twisting her nipples until they bled -- nipples that were eventually ripped off, according to the documents.
Thompson said the two most recent incidents came on Tuesday, when the girl was beaten by her mother for a bathroom-in-the-bed incident, and again on Wednesday, when she told investigators she hit her daughter for being "naughty again."
It's around the time of that last beating that the girl went unconscious, and 9-1-1 was called.
At her initial appearance before a judge, Buckman changed her story, saying she gave her attorney proof that she didn't do anything.
According to what Edwards told police, the couple had been assaulting the girl over five or six months, the documents say.
He said he had "disciplin[ed]" the girl using either his hand or a remote control, according to the documents, and admitted to being the guy responsible for the burns on the girl.
That was due to placing her into a bathtub with "scalding hot water" several weeks ago, but those burns were still visible.
Edwards was jailed on two felony child-abuse charges, while Buckman was jailed on four, but the best guess is that's going to change now that it's a homicide case.
Also read:
Ashley Buckman's 4-Year-Old Daughter Dies From Injuries, Now It's a Homicide
Ashley Buckman's 4-Year-Old Daughter Is Brain Dead After Horrific Alleged Abuse From Buckman and Her Boyfriend
