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Last updated on Sunday, September 23, 2018
(HURON) - An 18-month-old male toddler found dead last Saturday had been dead for several hours before first responders arrived at the child’s home in the 1900 block of Old Vincennes Road.
According to a Lawrence County Superior Court I probable cause affidavit, when Lawrence County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Tyler Phillips arrived at the home around 8:57 a.m. he found 29-year-old Jessie Phillips and the toddler's mother Kendra Mihlfeld, sitting on the front porch of the residence.
He and the first responders from Huron Volunteer Fire Department and an AMR ambulance entered the home and found the dead toddler lying on a toddler's mattress in a back bedroom.
Mihfield told police that she was awakened by one of the two other children living in the home telling her something was wrong with the baby. Mihlfeld got out of bed, noticed something was wrong with her son and called 911.
The detective saw a large bruise on the center of the child's forehead, blood coming from his mouth and large bruises around both of his knees. Police say the toddler had been dead for hours.
Mihlfeld told police she had been dating Jessie Phillips for the past couple of months and lived together in the home with three children.
Jessie Phillips told police he had watched the children that day while Mihlfeld was at work. Jessie told police he put the toddler to bed around 7:30 p.m. and Mihlfeld came home from her restaurant job at 10:30 p.m. Mihlfeld said she went to bed when she got home and had not checked on the child. She told police the last time she saw her child alive was around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14, which was before she left for work.
Jessie Phillips told police he woke up Saturday, Sept. 15, took a shower, went to pick up some food in Huron and came home, that is when Mihlfeld came outside to tell him the toddler was dead.
A post-mortem examination was conducted on Sunday, Sept. 16th The child died from an acute subdural hemorrhage of the brain, and the manner of death was determined to be a homicide.
An autopsy concluded the toddler died of acute subdural hemorrhage caused by abusive head trauma. Bruising was found on the child's head, chest, and legs.
The detective seized cell phones belonging to both Jessie Phillips, and Mihlfeld to do a forensic examination.
On Jessie Phillips's phone, police found a PDF filed downloaded Sept. 14 titled, "Head Injury in Infants, Children, and Adults: Triage, Assessment, Investigation, and Early Management." The 10-page document was downloaded around the time he said he put the boy to bed.
On Mihlfeld's phone police found photos of the male toddler days before his death. The photo showed a bruise on the left side of his forehead, but not the bruise found in the center of his forehead.
Jessie Phillips was arrested at 7 p.m. Tuesday. He is facing charges of aggravated battery resulting in the death of a child under 14 years of age, unlawful possession of a syringe, possession of a controlled substance and marijuana. He is being held in the Lawrence County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
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