LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Jefferson County Coroner's Office has confirmed a three-year-old child died at Norton Children's Hospital Dec. 28 after suffering third degree burns at a Louisville hotel in November.
Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders said West Virginia native Keith Kennedy-McLeod, his girlfriend and her three-year-old child were staying at an Extended Stay on Bunsen Way. When the girlfriend left the residence, Sanders said Kennedy-McLeod put the child into a bathtub of scalding water.
The child was taken to the hospital with third degree burns. During examination, doctors discovered the child also had severe head trauma that required surgery and fingernail cuts consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
In his arrest citation, police said Kennedy-McLeod admitted to shaking the child and said he is the primary person who gives the child baths. In an interview, the child's mother said she was not aware of any injuries when she left him with her boyfriend.
Sanders said the child was placed on life support at Norton Children's Hospital until it was deemed he would not recover. Kennedy-McLeod was charged with first degree assault and criminal abuse. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Jefferson District Court and will have his next hearing Jan. 15.
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