A Florida woman faces child abuse charges after she allegedly branded her daughters with a burning stick so that they could be identified. Kayla R. Oxenham, 23, of Port Charlotte Florida, reportedly told her children that she “forgot how much she loved fire,” The Raw Story reports.
As to why she needed to brand her daughters for identification, the reasons are clear only to her. This is however, the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone branding their kids. Let’s hope this isn’t a trend.
The children, ages 5 and 7, said that Oxenham burned a stick with a lighter and then touched the stick to their arms, according to a Port Charlotte police report. The girls said that their mom told them she had to burn them so that they could have ice cream, and so that they could be identified as hers, the report stated.
The 7-year-old said that the incident began when her mother repeatedly slammed her younger sister’s head into a wall as punishment for locking a cat in their bathroom.
According to Buzzfeed,?an investigation began in March after the Florida Department of Children and Families received reports from daycare staff who noticed scabs on the girls bodies. Medical examiners confirmed that the injuries were consistent with burns.
Oxenham, who is a medical assistant, has denied beating the girls and is refusing to talk to police about the burns, according to The Raw Story.
Like this article? Check us out on Facebook.
