Murder charge filed in death of Anderson child
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — The Madison County prosecutor on Thursday filed formal charges against an Anderson mother and her boyfriend in connection with the Saturday murder of 1-year-old Paisley Hudson.
Kayla Hudson, 25, faces a level-one felony charge of neglect of dependent resulting in death and a class A misdemeanor charge of reckless supervision by a child care provider.
Ryan Ramirez, 29, faces charges of murder and reckless supervision by a child care provider.
Madison County Coroner Marian Dunnichay said Hudson brought Paisley to St. Vincent Anderson Hospital, where Paisley was pronounced deceased at 7:06 a.m. Saturday. An autopsy completed on Sunday morning determined Paisley Hudson’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, including two liver lacerations, which led to hemoperitoneum, Dunnichay said.
Court documents filed on Thursday provide more details about the events leading up to Paisley’s death.
When officers with Anderson Police Department reported to St. Vincent Hospital on Saturday morning to investigate the child’s death, Kayla Hudson told them she had left her children in the care of Ramirez, her boyfriend of six months, while she went to work on Friday night. Ramirez and the children dropped Kayla off at work at 5 p.m. and when he picked her up around 11 p.m., Paisley was asleep in her car seat, according to court documents.
Ramirez carried Paisley back up to the room they stayed in at a red Roof Inn and put her to bed in a Pack’n Play where she normally slept, while Kayla put her son to bed. She told police she then went to Walmart to buy cream and tea bags, which she returned and applied to the boy’s body, to treat bruises and swelling. She then left again to get food and cigarettes.
When Kayla Hudson came back the second time, court documents say, she asked Ramirez if he had checked on Paisley, and he said he’d changed her diaper. She told police she and Ramirez were awake all night, talking and watching TV, when around 6:15 a.m. Saturday, she became worried that Paisley hadn’t woken up or moved. When she tried to wake Paisley, the girl was unresponsive, not breathing and cold to the touch, she told police.
Kayla undressed the girl and put her in a warm bath, then attempted to perform CPR and redressed her but did not call 911, according to court documents. Kayla told police that Ramirez said, “You’re going to get CPS called on you. You’ve already lost one kid, you don’t want to lose [redacted name] too. We’ve got to come up with something.” She told police that she refused to come up with alibis and left her other child in the care of Ramirez, while she took Paisley to St. Vincent Anderson.
Ramirez’s two sons were interviewed by police; one of them said Ramirez hit Paisley “for no reason, he hits her a lot.”
Hudson’s other child was examined and found to be “covered” with bruises and other signs of physical trauma.
