Inset left to right: Catherine Philippe and Junior Borelus (Plainfield Police Department). Background: The apartment complex in Plainfield, Ind. (Google Maps).
An Indiana woman was recently arrested after an attempt at taking vengeance on her cheating husband put her young son in the hospital instead, according to law enforcement in the Hoosier State.
Catherine Philippe, 38, stands accused of one count each of neglect of a dependent resulting in injury, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, Hendricks County court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Junior Borelus, 39, the defendant's husband, is also charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in injury.
The underlying incident occurred at an apartment complex on Meadowlark Way in Plainfield — a medium-sized town located on the western edge of the Indianapolis metro area.
The investigation began in June of this year when an officer from the Plainfield Police Department received a report from the Indiana Department of Child Services. That report detailed how a 4-year-old boy was being treated for burn injuries at a hospital in Indianapolis, according to court records obtained by local Fox affiliate WXIN.
The child's burn injuries were days old at that point, according to law enforcement. Described as severe, the burns were concentrated on his back and left shoulder, traveling down his left arm.
When investigators followed up, Philippe allegedly said she was in a domestic dispute with her husband on the day in question. During the dispute, the woman attempted to throw a pot of boiling water on her husband, but missed and hit her son instead, police said.
The woman went on to say she did not initially see any injuries on her son, so she did not seek medical treatment until days later when she finally took him to the hospital, according to law enforcement.
An interview with two older children, however, injected doubt into those claims, police said. The other children said the burns were immediately visible but that Philippe did not want to go to the hospital because "she didn't have much money" and because she was afraid she would be blamed, according to the charging documents.
The older children did corroborate the cause of the child's injuries, authorities said. The children described how Philippe and Borelus were arguing over the man's mistress — but also said the argument had something to do with ice cream, police said. The children added that Philippe was trying to hit Borelus with the scalding water but missed and hit the little boy instead.
Charges were filed against the defendants last week. Both Philippe and Borelus were arrested earlier this week.
The husband is currently being detained in the Hendricks County Jail on $2,000 bond issued Thursday, court records show. The wife is being detained on $7,500 bond.
A pretrial conference in the case against Borelus is slated for Oct. 20. Philippe is scheduled to next appear in court on Oct. 29.
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