Vanessa Hart’s injuries were among the worst that her emergency room doctors had ever seen.
The 4-year-old suffered massive trauma to her head, her abdominal organs had been crushed against her own backbone, and she likely experienced “excruciating pain” before she died, according to murder charges filed Monday against her father and his girlfriend.
The injuries that caused Vanessa’s death last week ended months of abuse by Clinton Joseph Hart and Marina Belen Navarro, the charges state.
Navarro was watching Vanessa and Hart’s 2-year-old son on June 13 at their Kearns home when she called Hart to report that Vanessa had fallen down the stairs and was lethargic and struggling to breathe, police wrote.
Hart came home to find Vanessa unresponsive and each of her eyes focused separate directions. She was flown to Primary Children’s Medical Center, where doctors said she had experienced head trauma, brain swelling and neurological dysfunction, “possibly the result of several different impacts to her head” that likely occurred after Hart left for work, police wrote.
Vanessa also had “one of the worst series of intra-abdominal injuries that physicians at the Safe and Healthy Families Team at PCMC have ever seen,” the charges state. Her bowel wall was swollen, the head of her pancreas was crushed, and there were various tears and ruptures to her intestines, investigators wrote. Those injuries were caused by a force strong enough to push her organs against her vertebrae, according to the charges.
would appreciate some news or links.You all have done a wonderful job of finding information and keeping everyone updated. Good job Ethan you will not be forgotten hun
