A Tucson couple has been arrested on felony child abuse charges, in connection with the February death of the woman's 6-month-old daughter, authorities said.
Kylie Brewer, 19, and Jon-Paul Bogdanowich Jr., 19, were booked into the Pima County jail Tuesday, each on one count of felony child abuse, said Deputy Cody Gress, a sheriff's department spokesman.
Shortly before noon on Feb. 19, deputies went to a home in the 2900 block of West Katapa Trail after reports that a child was not breathing. The baby was taken to Banner-University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, according to a sheriff's department news release.
Doctors told sheriff's department investigators that the child's injuries included a bruise on her head, blood in her nose and mouth, a "deformed" and possibly fractured bone in her arm and skin that was beginning to "marble" in appearance, according to a search warrant return filed in Pima County Superior Court.
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Homicide detectives took over the investigation, and learned that earlier in the week, the child's biological father called the department to perform a welfare check after Brewer had posted on social media that she injected drugs. During the welfare check, Brewer denied using drugs and the baby was found to be clean and "appeared in good health," the warrant return said.
When Brewer was interviewed after he daughter was taken to the hospital, she told detectives that she injected methamphetamine the previous Tuesday and authorities found a box of hypodermic needles in the bedroom.
The couple told detectives that friends had watched the baby the night before while they were at work, and that Bogdanowich called 911 after finding her unresponsive in her crib. However, detectives noted in the warrant return that the crib was "undisturbed."
Items taken from the house included cell phones, a wooden pipe, several needles with an unknown substance and a digital scale. A red substance was found inside of the crib and swabs were taken back to the lab to analyze, and another deputy noted seeing a child's article of clothing with blood on it on the couch, the warrant return said.
Bogdanowich is being held in the Pima County jail on a $30,000 bond, according to Pima County jail records.
The investigation is ongoing.
