Columbia Police: Caregiver Slammed Head of Child, 2, into Bathtub Faucet

The caregiver of a 2-year-old boy who died last weekend after his head was slammed into a bathtub faucet while being bathe has been charged, Columbia Police said Thursday.

Margie R. Hamm, 34, of Lester Drive, was arrested Wednesday and charged with homicide by child abuse. 

Hamm is the girlfriend of the child's father, who was said to be at work and not at home at the time of the abuse, which occurred on Friday, May 17.

The child's mother was killed 10 months ago in a car crash, Interim Police Chief Ruben Santiago said.

According to an arrest warrant, Hamm said she noticed the child began having breathing difficulty and loss of strength within an hour of slamming his head into the faucet. 

Hamm said she put the child into bed. 

The toddler was in the bathtub along with Hamm's two children, police said. They were not injured.

A call to 911 was placed Saturday morning after the father found his son unresponsive in the bed, authorities said. 

The child died during the night, officials said.

Jayon F. Wilson-Turnipseed died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head causing a brain injury, Richland County Coroner Garry Watts said.

Authorities say the death was considered suspicious. 

"Healthy 2-year-old children shouldn't die," Watts said during a press conference Thursday. "We knew from the very beginning that there was a problem with this."

Watts said there were "very slight external signs of injury, so it's not something that was readily picked up."

The child received a "significant blow," Watts said, one that "the child could not have been done under normal circumstances."

"This is an act that doesn't have an explanation and certainly doesn't have an excuse," Watts said. 

Santiago said during the initial investigation there were no obvious signs of trauma — nothing that would make officers who arrived at the home Saturday immediately feel like that was a suspicious death — but they determined the injuries discovered during the coroner's office's medical exams was "obviously caused by something or someone" and they wanted to find out what happened. 

Police say Hamm approached them and provided verbal and written statements saying she slammed the child's head into the faucet. 

"Through interviews, through a search warrant and gathering the evidence, I believe that Ms. Hamm finally realized she needed to be accountable for her actions and she then gave a written statement to what happened," Santiago said. 

While the investigation still continues, police think the motive was anger.

Hamm is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. The charge carries a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.

In 2012, Columbia Police reported 73 charges related to crimes against children including for unlawful neglect of a child, child endangerment,  and cruelty to children, according to a release.

Dr. Alicia Benedetto, director of the Assessment and Resource Center (ARC) — a program of the Department of Mental Health in partnership with USC's School of Medicine and Palmetto Health Children's Hospital — offered several tips for parents who find themselves feeling anger toward a child:

• Remove yourself from the child if possible
• Call for help 
• Find someone else to properly take care of the child while you relax
• Do NOT leave a child unattended
• Have a child-care plan before negative emotions take over
• Get help for yourself 

"I think it's a great idea for parents, especially young parents, parents with lots of children and parents who have a lot of stresses to have a contact list," Benedetto said. "There's no shame in going to someone and saying 'I'm having a hard time.'"