A Missouri woman faces charges after an infant in her care ended up with seven broken bones. According to the woman, Tonya Reynolds, her pet injured the child. But based on the breaks, police say there is no way that’s true. Police brough Reynolds in for questioning, and did eventually take some ownership for the child’s injuries.
Currently, police are still investigating the abuse, but Reynolds has been arrested. Police haven’t released any additional information about the child.
The Vernon County Sheriff’s Office shared a statement about the incident. The sheriff’s office was called to investigate a possible case of child abuse on March 17, 2025. “After investigating alongside division of family service it was found to be accurate,” the statement said.
“After following up on All leads and conducting a thorough investigation finding that the child sustained multiple broken bones and was transported to receive medical care, an arrest was made.”
According to a report from WFLA, a 5-month-old baby was brought to the local emergency room with a broken arm. The child was then transferred to Children’s Mercy. Court documents say that the parent of the baby is Reynolds’ daughter. The child’s mother told staff at the hospital that Reynolds told her a cat had bitten the baby boy.
Hospital staff reached out to the sheriff’s office about the possible abuse. The infant was suffering from two broken bones in his left arm, three broken ribs on his left side, and two broken ankles.
An affidavit to show probable cause stated Tonya Reynolds told children’s services that her dog jumped on the baby while he was lying on the floor. She claimed the baby “made a grunting noise once.”
However, doctors’ reports indicate the infant’s injuries were too severe for it to have been a dog, KOAM reported. The doctor told police that the child’s arm sustained a transverse fracture. That type of fracture is like breaking pencil in half. You can only get a fracture like that from excessive force. And the broken ribs were likely from squeezing or pushing. The doctor said the breaks were likely from the baby being shaken.
When police questioned Reynolds, she said the child’s mother told her the infant’s arm “wasn’t working.” She believed the arm was numb. Toward the end of their conversation, Reynolds admitted “it’s my fault.”
According to court documents, Reynolds was the only person watching the infant all weekend.
Tonya Reynolds faces charges of abuse or neglect of a child, serious emotional or physical with no sexual contact. Currently, she is in jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
