Woman accused of abusing infant, faces charges

LANCASTER – A grand jury recently indicted a local woman accused of abusing a newborn baby, causing multiple fractures to the infant’s bones in October.

Local law enforcement was alerted last year after the infant was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hopsital for treatment for a leg fracture on Oct. 22.

After further treatment, however, doctors discovered the baby actually had “multiple broken bones,” which all had been broken over the previous few days, according to police reports.

The police report also indicates hospital officials determined the broken bones were caused by abuse.

The Lancaster Police Department subsequently launched an investigation into how the infant, who was less than 6 weeks old at the time, received these injuries over the course of several days. The investigation led police to 22-year-old Dawn E. Tooill, who was arrested on a warrant in March in connection to the infant’s assault.

Tooill’s case went in front of a grand jury March 2, and it indicted her on a total of four felonies: two counts of endangering children and two counts of felonious assault, all second degree felonies. According to the indictment, Tooill is accused of abusing and knowingly causing serious physical harm on or about Oct. 18 to Oct. 22.

Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx declined to release any further details about the abuse allegations. Marx said no other information would be released about the case until prosecutors publish a bill of particulars to the court.

According to court records, Tooill’s defense attorney, Jacob Ort, submitted a memorandum to the court, suggesting that Tooill is “not competent to stand trial” on Thursday.

A competency hearing for Tooill has not been scheduled, but there is a jury trial slated to begin at 9 a.m. May 12 in Judge David Trimmer’s Fairfield County Common Pleas Court.

In the meantime, Tooill is being held at the Fairfield County Wheeling Street Jail on a $25,000 cash or surety bond.

sroush@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-225-9472

Twitter: @SpencerRoushLEG