Chipped tooth, broken nose, and malnourishment: Horrific child abuse case uncovered in Kentucky

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of child abuse. Please take care while reading.

A Kentucky boy returned to school in late January for the first time since Christmas break showing signs of torture, and a woman, described as the boy’s caregiver, has been arrested and charged with his abuse.

According to the Kentucky State Police, the boy’s Pike County, KY, school contacted them in the past to report bruising on his body, including his chin. After missing school for over a month, beginning around the Christmas holiday, the boy returned with a broken nose and chipped teeth, Kentucky’s WYMT reported. He also appeared malnourished, school officials said. Mary Hall, 42, of Raccoon, KY, in Pike County, was later arrested and charged with his abuse. Her exact relationship to the child is unclear.

The boy said he had been riding his bike and stacking firewood but did not say that’s what caused his injuries. The boy gorged himself until he was sick when the school offered him a meal. Since then, he has been transported to the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center after he suffered cardiac arrest, sometimes by malnutrition. The boy could not keep down solid food at the hospital, and U.K. Chandler doctors confirmed signs of torture.

The “dark room”

According to Hall’s arrest warrant, investigators visited the boy’s home, where he lived with other children and a man only identified as Jerome Norman. They found the boy’s bedroom, reportedly called the “dark room,” locked from the outside with just a single mattress and a lamp inside. According to the police, none of the other children, whose relationship with the boy has also not been reported so far, showed signs of abuse. The other children in the home said Hall used them like informants, asking them to report the boy’s daily activities.

According to the Appalachian News-Express, Hall said she didn’t know what happened when asked about the boy’s injuries. She also mentioned stacking firewood and bike riding, but added, “He could have done it in his sleep.” Investigators also learned food was denied when Hall learned the boy ate at school.

“The other children report to Mary as to what happens at school,” Hall’s arrest warrant explained, according to Mountain Top Media. If Hall learned he ate cake or pizza at school, she denied him dinner, the warrant added. “There are times when [he] is not allowed to eat at home due to discipline,” it said.

Jerome Norman is on the run

Around the same time Hall was arrested, Norman, 43, the other adult living with Hall at the home, faced similar charges but fled from the police, according to Mountain Top Media. The nature of Norman and Hall’s relationship has not so far been reported. Neither has Norman’s relationship with the abused boy and the other children in the home.

The abused boy’s current condition is unclear. Hall is currently held at the Pike County Detention Center on a $500,000 cash bond, charged with child abuse, kidnapping, and assault. She has not yet entered a plea. When she is expected to appear in court is unclear, as is whether she has legal representation.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788