Aunt Convicted Of Abuse; Baby’s Recovery Called “Miracle”

A woman accused of binding her niece’s baby with duct tape and putting her in a cold shower until she was unconscious was found guilty of felony child abuse Friday, but was acquitted of attempted murder.

Mary Horsley, 50, faces between 20 and 48 years in prison when she is sentenced in May.

Meanwhile, the little girl Horsley was convicted of abusing, 2-year-old Alexis, is continuing to thrive despite severe mental and physical disabilities.

“She was considered in a persistent vegetative state, which is like a coma,” said Alexis’s father, Joseph Saunders, in an email. “Within months of living with my wife, our kids and I, she had started regaining some physical activity, and it seemed as if her brain started ‘turning on.’ She is a true miracle.”

Saunders said Alexis, who had been initially pronounced dead at the hospital after the abuse in April, can sit up on her own, reach for her toys and smile. He said she still is unable to walk, talk, crawl or eat on her own. He said Alexis is in therapy five days a week.

“No matter what, we love her, and are so happy she came into our lives, and our children’s lives,” said Saunders. “It is such a blessing that we found her.”

Saunders said Samantha Salaz, Alexis’s mom, had told him she had a miscarriage, and that he never knew about Alexis until the news came out about the abuse. Saunders and his wife immediately fought for custody of the baby.

Salaz admitted to witnessing the severe abuse by Horsley and doing nothing to stop it. Salaz was sentenced to 24 years in prison after taking a plea deal and testifying against her aunt.

Prosecutors in the case against Horsley said they believed justice was served Friday, despite the lack of an attempted murder conviction. In addition to felony child abuse resulting in serious injury, Horsley was convicted of several lesser charges, including abusing two other kids in her care.

Horsley’s attorney said he planned to appeal the conviction.