La Junta couple arrested and released for alleged child abuse after neighbors report injured baby

LA JUNTA, Colo. (KRDO) - A couple in La Junta have been charged with child abuse after hospital staff found skull fractures and noted malnourishment in their baby, stemming from a call to police by a concerned neighbor who noticed the injuries.

La Junta Police Department (LJPD) arrested 25-year-old Taylor Bolfer and 41-year-old Charles Mcllveen on Tuesday, April 15th. It came after an investigation into a call for service they responded to at Morning Side Heights apartment complex, on April 8.

It was that day they received a concerned call from a woman and her daughter about their upstairs neighbor's newborn child.

Tiffany Whiting says she was returning some laundry to Bolfer and Mcllveen when she saw the newborn baby in the couple's arms, and noticed what looked like some marks on the infant's head. She then asked to hold the baby and look after him for a few minutes to give the couple some time to themselves, and they agreed.

That's when Whiting and her daughter looked at the infant more intently, noticing the 7-week-old baby had distinct marks of head trauma, and said that it felt very lightweight, like that of a true newborn baby. They noted the baby had loose skin and appeared malnourished.

"We just saw... different types of head trauma, head swelling, um, bleeding to the head. There was open wounds on the baby," Whiting told KRDO13 on Thursday.

Arrest records for Bolfer and Mcllveen obtained by KRDO13 on Thursday, confirm those injuries, after police consulted the medical staff at the Arkansas River Valley Regional Center, who evaluated the baby after it was brought in by ambulance.

They noted "significant" skull fractures to the Parietal bone, with one significant vertical fracture on the Parietal bone and one horizontal fracture to the Parietal bone. Personnel described the injuries as "abusive injuries that could impact [the baby's] growth and development."

Staff also noted the infant's ribs were visible and that it was skinny and pale with no stored fat, describing the baby as "extremely" malnourished.

The infant was then quickly sent to Children's Hospital Colorado Springs.

KRDO13 has asked LJPD who has custody of the baby at this time and its health status, but they did not tell us.

"I think we all just kind of cried and bawled our eyes out. We were angry. We were mad. We were sad," said Whiting, explaining that the apartment complex is full of families, including mothers with young kids, who were appalled at the discovery earlier this month.

They were so concerned with the newborn's well-being, that families in the complex put together a memorial and/or vigil of sorts just outside the door to the couple's unit, not knowing if the child was going to survive or not.

"Not even a week, to be honest with you, [with] the shape that baby was in. Not even a week." Whiting added about how long the infant may have survived had she not spotted the child's injuries that day.

Meanwhile, Bolfer and Mcllveen told police in interviews that no one else has ever cared for their baby other than them, except for the time it was with a new babysitter for approximately ten minutes, which was right before the welfare check call was made on April 8.

Detectives also asked if there were any incidents of the baby falling from an elevated surface. Bolfer said she had never seen anything like that happen, while Mcllveen stated that he did have one accident, where the baby fell out of his arms around two to three weeks ago, and that the baby hit its head on the play pen.

He told detectives that he caught the baby in mid-air and that the infant never hit the floor, and stated they never sought medical attention because they thought the baby was okay.

Ultimately, the two were charged with a singular Class 3 Felony count of Child Abuse: knowingly/recklessly resulting in serious bodily injury.

Although Bolfer and Mcllveen were arrested on Monday, they were both back at their apartment unit by Thursday, as they were released on a Personal Recognizance bond, or cashless bond, by an Otero County judge.

A resident told KRDO13 that the couple answered the door, meaning they were in fact home on Thursday afternoon. KRDO13 then went and knocked on the door, and spoke aloud through the door, asking if they would speak with us and address the charge against them, but no one answered.

The couple is due in the Otero County courthouse for a non-criminal appearance over "Dependency and Neglect" on April 22, as is customary with any case involving a child, whereas their first criminal hearing regarding their Child Abuse charges will be held on April 24 at the courthouse.