HOUSTON – A Fort Bend couple have both been arrested and charged with felonies for the way they punished their 7-year-old son.
Marie Horton, 27, and Christoper Funderburg, 29, are both charged with injury to a child after forcing him to stand in hot water, causing burns on his feet, and not getting him the medical attention he needed.
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He told investigators the burns were so bad his skin was coming off immediately after he was finally let out of the tub. Doctors said they were second- and third- degree burns on his feet.
Horton was punishing the boy because she thought he pulled a fire alarm at school.
"Being a parent, that's not reason for punishment. You don't punish a child like that. That's abuse. Period," said neighbor Michelle Leban.
In court documents, Horton claims she turned the water on and left the bathroom, insisting she only realized something was wrong when she heard a fall and the boy screaming.
She's a registered nurse, and says she didn't bring the child to the hospital because she thought she could take care of him by putting medicine on the injuries and wrapping them.
The boy's father, Christoper Funderburg, 29, is accused of injury to child by omission. He was at work when this happened. He says he didn't see his son's injuries until the next morning and told deputies he didn't think a trip to the ER was necessary because his wife was a nurse. The boy told detectives they didn't "know what to say to the doctors."
The boy told investigators it was not the first time he and his two siblings had been given what they call the "hot water punishment." The 7-year-old said Horton did this to him at least four times.
The attorney for Horton and Funderburg declined comment. Child Protective Services temporarily placed the boy and his two younger sisters with relatives. A CPS spokesperson says the boy is still recovering