Mother Was Silent About Girl’s Injury Child Had Suffered Black Eye Day Before She Was Critically Injured When Tossed Into Bathtub

Amanda Welch had a black eye the day before she was thrown head-first into a bathtub.

Instead of reporting the abuse, Amanda’s mother, Judy Sorenson, remained silent, fearing state authorities would take her daughter away.

The 3-year-old girl remained in critical condition Friday at Sacred Heart Medical Center with a massive brain injury. Sorenson’s boyfriend, Lance Brandvold, remained in the Spokane County Jail, accused of first-degree assault.

In court papers filed Friday, Sorenson admitted being an unfit mother and relinquished custody to her sister, Nancy Cowles of Reardan, Wash.

Sorenson told her sister that Amanda had “fallen down in the park” while with Brandvold on June 1, the day before he allegedly threw her into the bathtub. She came home with a black eye.

The next day, Sorenson kept Amanda out of day care to protect Brandvold and keep Child Protective Services workers from discovering her daughter’s injury.

Brandvold had a history of abusing his girlfriends and their children, his mother said.

“I recognize in the case against my boyfriend who injured my daughter that his conduct was not appropriate and I did not correct it,” Sorenson wrote, consenting to the custody transfer.

Sorenson also agreed to a temporary restraining order barring her from taking Amanda out of the hospital. Amanda’s natural father, Richard Welch, was barred from contact with his daughter in an earlier divorce decree because of a history of domestic violence.

The custody change also gives Cowles authority to make medical decisions for her niece.

Superior Court Commissioner Ellen Clark agreed to the custody change and the restraining order, according to Carl Maxey, Cowles’ attorney.

Maxey said Sorenson agreed to the custody change with regret. “Having momentarily made a reckless decision in protecting her boyfriend over her child’s interest, she is now determined to make it up,” said Maxey.

But Sorenson also had little chance of retaining custody, according to Maxey. “I think (the agreement) is because she knows there’s agencies in place that would not let her take her child out of hospital,” said Maxey.

Amanda was still in critical condition Friday, but she was improving. According to Maxey, she woke up at noon Friday and asked for her mother.

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