PASADENA, Texas – A mother and her boyfriend are facing felony murder charges in connection with the death of her toddler.
On Nov. 17, 2012, investigators say responding officers found the motionless body of a 2-year-old child lying on a sidewalk in a Pasadena apartment complex. Officers reported that the toddler was not breathing and displayed no pulse. The child was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Court documents state doctors found more than 230 contusions and bruises all over his tiny body, including abrasions to his face, scalp, chest and abdomen. Doctors stated the boy's cause of death is blunt force trauma and the manner of death is homicide.
Officers contacted the child's caretaker, Chad Wisnieski, who is the live-in boyfriend of the child's mother, Christina Chadwick. Investigators say Wisnieski initially reported that the child fell asleep next to him on the couch and when he tried to wake him, he was unresponsive and not breathing. Police say Chadwick was at work at the time.
During an interview with Chadwick, investigators say she told them she has full custody of the boy and his two older siblings and that Wisnieski is the sole caretaker of her three children while she works.
Police say she told them she observed bruising on the boy's body the night before and attributed the bruises to the toddler being "adventurous" and that some of the bruises could have been caused by the boy's older sister. Chadwick denied abusing the child.
According to court documents, investigators say Wisnieski admitted to playing "rough" with the boy including "punching or pushing" him in the stomach and "throwing him up in the air." He denied abusing the toddler and stated the boy's sibling hit him in the head with a piece of plastic that night.
Wisnieski, 29, and Chadwick, 29, are both charged with felony murder. Both were arrested on Thursday. Bond has been set at $50,000 each.
Court records show Wisnieski has multiple prior convictions for theft, marijuana possession and assault of a family member.