Inset: Ashley Marie Karschnick (Fond du Lac County Jail). Background: Lily Pad day care in Wisconsin (Google Maps).
A day care worker in Wisconsin became frustrated after a 3-month-old infant began crying every time she touched her and slammed her into the side of a crib, breaking her arm, authorities said.
Ashley Marie Karschnick, 32, stands accused of child abuse-recklessly causing harm, court records say. The incident occurred Oct. 13 at Lily Pad Day Care in Fond du Lac, which is some 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee. According to a criminal complaint obtained by local ABC affiliate WBAY, cops responded to a children's hospital after the baby arrived at the hospital with a fractured arm.
Karschnick was reportedly working at the baby room in the day care on the day in question. While reviewing surveillance video, investigators said it appeared the defendant was becoming "more and more frustrated" as the day progressed.
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The incident that caused the baby's arm to break apparently came around 12:30 p.m. when video allegedly showed Karschnick pick her up and slam her down into the crib "with enough force where you can see the side of the crib rock side to side and you can hear thump from the impact on the mattress," the affidavit reportedly said.
Roughly 10 minutes later, Karschnick walked back to the crib and tried to swaddle the girl in an attempt to calm her down. That didn't work. Cops reportedly said the baby continued to cry so hard she was gasping for air, sounding "like a blood-curdling scream." At this point, it appeared the girl's arm was limp and not working properly, the affidavit reportedly said.
Post-Miranda, Karschnick denied slamming the baby, claiming she caused the crib to move in that fashion after she bumped into it. Detectives also asked why the girl was screaming so loudly.
"I feel like it was the same cry she was giving me," she allegedly said. "I feel like every time I touched her she was crying."
Cops arrested Karschnick and took her to jail where she has since posted a $2,500 bond. She's slated to appear in court on Tuesday.