The grandmother and parents of two young boys who were found with extreme injuries, including multiple broken bones, are facing a slew of criminal charges in what Kentucky police are describing as a “major child abuse case.”
Nicholas A. Shanks27 i Shelby Kuntz25, was arrested by the Louisville Metro Police Department on Thursday, Jan. 15, after police say her 2-year-old son arrived at a hospital that day in “full cardiac arrest,” according to court documents provided to Us Weekly.
An arrest citation says the boy was taken privately to the hospital and 911 was never called.
The boy had to be “resuscitated” before being taken to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, where staff found the boy had a fractured skull and several missing teeth, according to the citation.
The child also had “extensive bruising,” “severe anemia” from blood loss and broken ribs that were “at least 2 weeks old,” according to the citation, which notes the toddler was also “extremely underweight/emaciated.”
After the hospital notified police, officers visited Shanks and Kuntz’s Louisville home and found another child, approximately 1 year old, “lying on the bed in the master bedroom with obvious signs of trauma,” the arrest citation says.
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The boy, who was also described as very emaciated, was hospitalized with three possible skull fractures, a possible broken jaw, a missing tooth, “severe anemia” from blood loss and other injuries, police said.
Shanks and Kuntz were questioned by police, who said they failed to get their children medical help.
Both parents were arrested on charges of first-degree assault-domestic violence, first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 or younger, first-degree wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor in connection with their children’s injuries, police said.
Information on legal representation for Shanks and Kuntz was not immediately available.
A day after their arrests, according to court documents, the children’s grandmother, Yvonne Shankshe was arrested in connection with the abuses. Yvonne is Nicholas’ mother.
During an interview on Friday, Jan. 16, Yvonne told police she saw one of the children had been injured the previous morning, according to her arrest citation, which says she “did not contact the police or obtain medical treatment for the child.”
“Under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference (to) the value of human life, he engaged in conduct that created a serious risk of death to the child by causing serious physical injury,” the citation reads. “The suspect allowed the victim, who is 11 months old, to be cared for by another person causing serious physical injury to her.”
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Yvonne is charged with first-degree assault-domestic violence, first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 or younger, first-degree wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor, records show.
Information about his legal representation was not immediately available.
Yvonne pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment on Saturday, January 17. The Courier-Diary informed
While commenting on the case and reacting to the boy’s injuries, Louisville Metro Police Cmdr Paul Humphrey told WDRB that “There is a special place in hell for people like that.”
In addition to the child abuse charges, Kevin also faces drug-related charges, court documents show.
After he was arrested on Jan. 15, he was found with “a loose, translucent crystal-like substance, consistent with methamphetamine,” in his pants during a search, according to police.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Helpline for children at 1-800-422-4453.