Macon County couple running daycare accused of child abuse; man allegedly fractured toddler’s femur
BEVIER, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Macon County couple who run a daycare in Bevier have been charged with child abuse after authorities say one of them fractured a toddler's femur.
Joshuea Leodon Teter, 28, of Bevier, was charged with child abuse in two separate cases – one stemming from last week and another from November 2022. He is being held at the Macon County Jail on a $500,000 bond. A bond hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Faith Leigh Anne Walker, 28, was charged with two counts of child abuse and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for an alleged incident in November 2022. Her bond is set at $250,000. A bond hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Court documents describe Walker as the daycare provider and Teter as her fiancé. There are no daycares registered with the state in Bevier, according to a records search with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
According to the probable cause statement, a 1-year-old child at the daycare woke up from his nap on Wednesday, Sept. 27 and began crying. After the parents were contacted and then EMS was called so the toddler could be evaluated. The parents of the child took him to a hospital in Columbia, where it was discovered his femur was fractured, according to the probable cause statement.
Court documents state the injury was a spiral fracture, which is a common sign of abuse. Teter allegedly admitted to law enforcement that he hurt the child. Teter said in the statement that the child was supposed to put away a “carpet square but was not putting it away properly.
Teter than allegedly became frustrated, grabbed the child by the arm and pulled him to the ground in “an extremely forceful manner,” the statement says. The force from the pull caused the fracture. Teter allegedly told law enforcement that he occasionally loses his temper with the children at the daycare.
On Thursday, Sept. 28, Walker allegedly told law enforcement that she was in the bathroom with another child during the 2022 incident. She allegedly said she saw Teter standing over the child, who was on the ground. She also allegedly said due to past instances of Teter losing his temper, she thought it was possible he did something to the child, but didn’t ask him.
Walker had told law enforcement that Teter gets upset, yells, throws things and punches things in their home, the statement says.
During an interview on Monday with law enforcement, Teter allegedly admitted that he told Walker what happened shortly after the incident occurred. Teter allegedly said that Walker did not have much of a reaction.
Law enforcement had asked Teter about an alleged incident from Nov. 1, 2022, involving a different child.
According to court documents, Teter said that child was initially crying because he wanted to stay with his grandmother, who dropped him off. Teter and Walker were unable to calm the child down and the child allegedly spit towards Teter; and Teter hit struck him with the back of his hand, the statement says.
While walking with Teter, the child allegedly hell and it resulted in his arm getting jerked, the statement says. The youth’s parents took him to University Hospital, where X-rays allegedly showed he suffered a fracture in his humorous.
The child also had redness, bruising and swelling on his face, the statement says. Teter and Walker originally said the injuries to the youth’s face was from him scratching himself, according to the statement.
