Mom's girlfriend had several stories to explain child's injuries that left him hospitalized, including burning his head with a 'hot comb': Police

Background: Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Deniqua Lovett (Broward County Sheriff's Office).

A Florida woman entrusted with the care of her girlfriend's son was arrested for child neglect.

Deniqua Lovett, 34, posted bond after she was arrested by the Miramar Police Department on Dec. 28, 2025, on suspicion of child neglect with great bodily harm. According to an arrest warrant reviewed by Law&Crime, Lovett was responsible for watching her girlfriend's young son when the boy sustained several injuries. The boy's injuries were serious enough to bring him to the hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.

Police said that Lovett provided her girlfriend with several explanations for why her son ended up with a broken arm, broken ribs, and several other contusions.

According to police, medical staff at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, contacted the Miramar Police Department after the boy was admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit on Sept. 4, 2025. The boy's mother brought him to the emergency room with "swelling to the head and elbow," which she said happened after he fell off a slide at a playground.

When the boy was examined by medical staff, they found that his elbow was broken and he had several rib fractures "at multiple stages of healing." Doctors also diagnosed a "traumatic hematoma" on the boy's head and elevated liver enzymes. His condition warranted further treatment and evaluation at the children's hospital.

Police spoke to the boy's mother, who told them that she first learned of her son's injuries from Lovett, who had been watching the boy while she was at work. Lovett told her about the boy's fall off the slide when she picked her up from work the same day. According to the affidavit, Lovett told her girlfriend that the boy "went down the slide differently and fell off" the side of the slide.

According to the affidavit, police reviewed surveillance video of the playground from Sept. 3 and 4, 2025. Police did not see Lovett or the boy on the footage either day; it was also reportedly raining on Sept. 3, 2025.

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The rib fractures also allegedly occurred when the boy was in Lovett's care. Police said Lovett told the boy's mother that he "fell behind the bed" while playing on it. Lovett told police that the alleged incident on the bed happened in July 2025.

Among the boy's numerous injuries were burns near his ear. When asked by police about the burns, Lovett said that she "accidentally" burned the boy's ear while using a "hot comb" on his hair.

An orthopedic surgeon who performed surgery on the boy's elbow told police that the elbow injury was likely sustained at least two days before the boy was brought to the emergency room. Police said medical staff conducted a skeletal survey on the boy and found several other healed fractures to his collarbone, forearm, and knee. Such injuries, the doctors said, "are consistent with non-accidental trauma."

Authorities placed the boy in the custody of his mother's aunt.

Lovett was arrested on Dec. 28, 2025, and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm. At a hearing on Monday, her bond was set at $100,000, which she posted. Her next court date has not been made public.