HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (TCD) — A 22-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of child abuse for allegedly putting bleach in her toddler’s bottle and feeding it to her.
According to a statement, on Jan. 2, a “concerned relative” of Melissa Barnes reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and said Barnes put bleach in her 13-month-old daughter’s bottle. The relative reportedly found Barnes living in a “cold, cluttered, and unsanitary” shed without power with the little girl. Barnes’ relative reportedly tried feeding the toddler, but she refused it.
The sheriff’s office said the the relative discovered the bottle had bleach in it, and when they asked Barnes about it, she “claimed to have used bleach to rinse the bottle.”
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit started investigating, and the child was immediately removed from Barnes’ care. Detectives executed a search warrant at the shed and located bleach and paint. They reportedly sent the bottle to an FBI lab, where they confirmed there was a presence of chlorine-based bleach.
Detectives issued a warrant for Barnes’ arrest on May 28 on charges of child abuse and child neglect, and she was taken into custody on June 3 in Highlands County. She will be extradited back to Hillsborough County at a later date.