Paramedics called to a report of a near-drowning Thursday morning instead found a 4-year-old boy who had been severely abused, police said.
The boy's mother and her boyfriend were arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
The Tucson Fire Department was dispatched to an apartment in the 5400 block of East Williams Blvd. about 11 a.m., according to a Tucson Police Department news release. Paramedics found the boy unconscious and nonresponsive. They were able to revive the child, who was covered in bruises, and took him to a hospital, where he was in critical condition Friday afternoon. Doctors determined the bruises were from "non- accidental trauma," according to the release.
During a subsequent investigation, detectives learned the child's mother, Judy Minley, 26, and her boyfriend, James Dwight Robinson, 27, had disciplined the boy over several hours Wednesday and put him to bed. He was found unresponsive the next morning.
"There was no indication that the boy had actually been under water or nearly drowned as was originally reported," the news release stated.
Minley and Robinson were booked on suspicion of one count each of child abuse and were held in lieu of $500,000 bonds.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
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