POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – A 27-year-old Poplar Bluff was arrested and charged for allegedly beating his live-in girlfriend’s 6-year-old daughter.
According to Captain JR Keirsey, a spokesman for the Poplar Bluff Police Department, the incident happened January 2 at a home in the 800 block of Hart Street.
The Butler County Ambulance Service responded to the residence for a report of a child that had suffered a fall. While at the home, EMS personnel noticed the injuries were not consistent with a fall.
The child was rushed to the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center to be treated for a brain bleed, collapsed lung, broken ribs, and bruising all over her body.
Police detectives made contact with the child’s mother and live-in boyfriend, identified as Damien Gaylor. During interviews, Gaylor admitted to throwing the 6-year-old, saying she landed on the corner of a couch. Gaylor also admitted to pushing the child down, causing her to hit her head against a stove. The child was knocked unconscious, but Gaylor didn’t attempt to give any aid to the child until her mother came home approximately two hours later.
The child was airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital for additional treatment. Her status is unknown, Keirsey said.
Gaylor was charged with abuse of a child and placed in the Butler County Justice Center. No bond was announced.
