60°
Zamareon Moat, 18, and Armani Coleman, 23, are charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, and conspiracy, prosecutors said.
The investigation began when Chester police were called to the couple's home about an unconscious infant on Jan. 22, the release says. Coleman handed arriving officers her 1-year-old son, who was lethargic and drawing shallow breaths, according to authorities.
Coleman and Moat both gave statements "suggesting that the child may have hit his head on a door jamb while crawling," and the toddler was taken to Nemours Children’s Hospital, the release says.
He was diagnosed with a bilateral facial injury from blunt impact trauma and needed surgery to drain a subdural hemorrhage, authorities wrote. Doctors also said he had "near fatal" injuries "consistent with shaking/impact events," according to the DA's Office.
Detectives then examined Coleman and Moat's daughter, who also had marks and bruises on her face and scratches on her body, the release says.
"Although defendant Moat attempted to explain the scratches as self-inflicted, the examining physician opined that the location of the scratches was inconsistent with such an explanation," prosecutors wrote.
Their daughter was found to be "emaciated," and doctors suspected that she had been intentionally starved almost to death, according to authorities.
She also showed bite marks and other injuries "which could be consistent with a method of restraint or strangulation," the DA's Office said.
Investigators said they found searches on the parents' devices including "scar removal cream for toddler," "how to get rid of a bite mark," and "can you tell if a baby been choked."
The County’s Department of Children and Youth Services had opened a case on the twins when they missed 15 doctor's appointments, even after being offered transportation and assistance, detectives later found.
Authorities said both twins were born testing positive for THC and that the girl was "medically fragile" and required oxygen. CYS reports noted that she did not have the mandatory monitoring equipment in place at home.
“The actions of these defendants are incomprehensible in their heinousness: they are alleged to have intentionally starved their medically fragile infant daughter to near death, and are believed to have inflicted a near fatal head injury on their infant son," wrote DA Jack Stollsteimer in a statement.
"Marks of possible strangulation, as well as bite marks, add to the picture of depravity presented by these defendants. Despite offers of assistance from CYS, the defendants missed dozens of doctor appointments, likely fearful that their abuse would be detected," he said.
Both parents were unable to post their $200,000 bonds and are being held at the Delaware County Prison, court records show. Each has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 28.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Drexel Hill-Upper Darby and receive free news updates.
