Parents are supposed to love and protect their children at all costs. Tragically, however, the individuals kids should be able to trust the most are the ones who cause them the most pain. That's because child abuse and neglect at the hands of primary caregivers are higher than most would like to acknowledge.
Recently, a Missouri mom was arrested after she allegedly sent videos of herself abusing her infant son. Emma Rigdon, 20, allegedly slapped, pinched, and attempted to suffocate her baby and messaged clips of the acts to an acquaintance. Now, she faces multiple child abuse charges.
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The mother faces two counts of abuse or neglect of a child.
Rigdon, 20, allegedly slapped and pinched her son's leg before putting her hands over his nose and mouth. Her alleged actions caused "difficulty in breathing and to flail his arms and legs," according to a St. Louis police probable cause statement obtained by People. Allegedly, Rigdon also recorded the abuse and sent it to an acquaintance.
A second video reportedly showed similar abuse.
Rigdon allegedly recorded and sent another video of herself abusing her infant son. In this clip, she allegedly placed a blanket and her hand over her son's mouth. The infant cried and tried to grab the blanket, according to the probable cause statement.
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Rigdon reportedly also sent chilling messages with the videos, according to police.
"IDK when I do that, I feel happy like adrenalin rush," she allegedly wrote, police said. "I be stopping right before he dies. Last time he was blue."
Another message she allegedly sent read, "I really wanna kill him but I don't want to go to jail so. It's unfortunate. He’s just gonna have to pay for his existence," People reported.
She was denied bond, and the boy will likely go into state custody.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Catherine Dierker denied Rigdon bond because of the nature of her alleged "repeated torture" for her son per the St. Louis Riverfront Times and concerns for other children she might encounter if she were released.
Her son, who is younger than 6 months, was receiving medical care at a hospital at the time of reporting. The newspaper also noted the infant would likely be put into state custody because of a restraining order against his father.
The boy's mother reportedly has mental health diagnoses.
Rigdon's attorney, Charles Barberio, noted during an April 17 hearing that the mother had a history of mental health diagnoses, per the RFT. They include borderline personality disorder on top of postpartum depression.
"That is probably the backstory of how we got to this probable cause statement," Barberio said about to the charges Rigdon is facing.
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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.
