RICHMOND, IN — A 62-year-old Richmond woman is accused of failing to properly care for her 4-year-old grandson.
Teresa Lee Ullery was charged in Wayne Circuit Court on Monday, June 15, with neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison.
According to an affidavit, on the evening of June 13, Ullery showed up at Bad Dad Pint & Slice, a “pizzeria and taproom” at 421 N. Eighth St., with her grandson.
Restaurant employees said the child, wearing “a shirt and diaper,” was “playing in the street and left unsupervised.”
A Richmond police officer sent to the scene said Ullery seemed “very lethargic and at some points even (appeared) to be nodding off” during conversations.
The officer said Ullery showed “signs of impairment” but did not smell of alcohol.
Two restaurant employees — both mothers — who saw the boy go unaccompanied into a restroom said they then noticed his “genital area appeared to be blue and possibly purple in color.”
Ullery told police that coloring was caused by spilled Hawaiian Punch or by the child coming into contact with cat litter.
When the child was later examined at Reid Hospital, physicians found no indication the color of the boy’s genitals was the result of abuse or injury and said the blue tint “could be from clothing.”
They did say the boy had toe injuries from wearing shoes that were “about three sizes too small.”
The restaurant employees also noted the child was “missing his whole front upper row of teeth, and that they were just black holes.”
They said he seemed “very hungry,” and they prepared him a slice of pizza, cut up to accommodate his missing teeth.
Indiana Department of Child Services officials were called to the scene and told Ullery she would need to take an “open fluids test” to determine whether was impaired.
She refused, reportedly saying she did “not believe in drug testing” and calling such tests “a scam.”
After failed efforts to find other family members nearby, the child was placed in the custody of DCS.
His grandmother, meanwhile, was arrested. She was released after posting bond at the Wayne County Jail.
Ullery has received a Sept. 8 trial date.
According to court records, the Richmond woman has been convicted of crimes including driving while intoxicated, false informing, driving while suspended and check deception.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Richmond grandmother charged with neglecting 4-year-old boy
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Richmond Palladium-Item / Richmond Palladium-Item
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Douglas Walker, Richmond Palladium-Item | USA TODAY Network
