Step-mother dips 4-year-old boy in hot water

ayodele johnson

March 18, 2016 11:10 AM

No charges have been filed against the father, who had reported the case to the police

Anna Ritchie

An Ohio woman, Anna Ritchie, 25, has been charged with homicide after dipping her four-year-old step-son, Austin Derreck Cooper into scalding water.

This was her way of punishing the child for an unknown offense.

Authorities were called to an Ohio home on Wednesday, March 16, 2016, after responding to a report of a child not breathing.

The police said they found Austin Derreck Cooper unresponsive before transporting him to Atrium Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

On Thursday, March 18, 2016, his death was ruled as a homicide by the Warren County Coroner's office which said the boy died after sustaining third-degree burns to his legs.

According to the Franklin Police Department, Ritchie had put his legs in scalding water the night before his death.

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Austin's father found the boy and called 911. Giving his account, he said, "He got into a hot bath last night with my wife and she thought [unintelligible] OK. So, he said he wanted to go lay down in bed,"

Ritchie has since been arrested following his death and has been charged with endangering children, which is a second-degree felony.

She was initially being held on a $100,000 bail but it has been raised to $350,000. The homicidal mother will be arraigned through video at the Franklin Municipal Court.

ayodele johnson