Neither a deaf man living in Evanston, Wyoming, nor his girlfriend can be ruled out as potential abusers who caused seizures and a brain bleed suffered by their 15-day-old baby, court documents say.
Isicc D. Prettypaint, 28, and Sage Peltier, 26, each face one count of aggravated child abuse, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Their case rose last week to the felony-level Uinta County District Court.
In response to a Cowboy State Daily phone call, Prettypaint called the outlet Friday morning with the help of a female sign-language interpreter, who said Prettypaint is deaf.
He declined with some hesitance to comment on the case, saying he does “have a lot of things to say” but isn’t ready to speak publicly.
Peltier could not be reached via her listed phone number.
Neither Prettypaint nor Peltier’s attorneys, both public defenders, responded by publication time to a Cowboy State Daily request for comment.
Baby Life-Flight
Evanston Regional Hospital asked the Evanston Police Department to investigate in May after hospital personnel encountered a 15-day-old girl with brain bleeding and seizures, according to an evidentiary affidavit in the case.
She had an unusually low heart rate for her age, the doctor also told investigators.
While medical personnel prepared to life-flight the girl to the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, a police officer placed the baby and her three older siblings into protective custody. The older children are about 6, 5, and 3, the affidavit says.
Detectives invited Peltier to the police department for an interview, and she agreed. She told investigators the girl was born healthy, though she went to the hospital once for the baby exhibiting fast breathing and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection, says the document.
The girl was an “easy baby,” the mother continued, saying she’d wake up two to three times a night and would only cry when she was hungry or needed a diaper change.
A Little Fussy
The baby’s 3-year-old sister was rocking her in a rocker in a rough manner around 3:30 the afternoon before the hospital visit, the affidavit relates from Peltier’s interview.
Peltier said she stopped the rocking, and the baby was fine throughout the night and morning, reportedly.
Peltier woke around 7:40 a.m. to get Prettypaint up and the older children ready for school, and she breastfed the baby to calm her because she was a little fussy, says the document.
Prettypaint agreed to take the baby downstairs so Peltier could sleep for another hour or two before he left to do landscaping work, the affidavit says.
Peltier was just starting to lie down around 8:35, but soon heard Prettypaint screaming downstairs, as if in alarm. Prettypaint told Peltier the baby choked on the bottle, which she does occasionally, and that she was breathing weird, says the document.
It is unclear whether the pair communicate by sign language or some other means. The Evanston Police Department did not immediately return a voicemail requesting comment.
Peltier continued her police interview, saying she picked up the baby and patted her back, trying to get any fluids out, but her eyes didn’t look normal; one was only partially open, the document relates.
She texted a friend just before 9 a.m. to ask for a ride to the hospital. By the time the friend arrived, the baby’s breathing had normalized, though every once in a while she’d take deep breaths. Her left leg shook “a little” on the way to the hospital, the affidavit says.
Doctor Says Non-Accidental
Dr. Tagrid Ruiz from Primary Children’s Hospital talked with the investigator, Evanston Police Detective Cody Webb, and concluded that the baby’s injuries were consistent with extensive shaking but not consistent with the mere rocking from a 3-year-old sibling, the document says.
The affidavit says the baby was categorized as critically ill. She had to be mechanically ventilated and sedated.
Medical scans revealed a brain bleed and torn veins. She kept having seizures and had swelling in her neck and hemorrhages in her eye, but no signs of external injury, such as bruising or scars on her skin.
It was difficult to rule either parent out as suspects given the timeline of their interactions with the baby the morning of the injuries, the document adds.
Older Children’s Past Injuries
At least one of the baby’s older siblings were seen for injuries in the months before this investigation started, court documents say.
One of the children was seen in the Primary Children’s Hospital on Feb. 1 for a fractured left femur after a reported fall on the stairs. Medical personnel referred the case to an investigatory group for a concern of physical abuse, as the child had bruises in areas that are normally protected from injury, the affidavit says.
Peltier was said to be outside the home with Prettypaint inside the home during that incident, says the document. DFS was also involved.
The affidavit says that either that same child or another child (it is unclear since two of the children have identical initials, and the document identifies them by their initials) was seen in August 2023 for a tibial fracture, and in October 2023 for a burn to the back of his hand that didn’t seem consistent for a toddler his age.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
