Drug addict charged with hurting toddler

An admitted drug addict has been charged with injuring a 16-month-old boy who suffered a series of suspicious injuries last month, including swelling to his head, multiple bruises and a large burn on his right foot.

Eric T. Quesnell, 23, appeared in court Monday after his arrest Sunday night on the charge of attempted first-degree assault of a child in connection with the injuries sustained by his girlfriend’s son, Spokane Police Lt. Scott Stephens said.

The toddler, identified in court records only as “J.J.C.,” was found unconscious March 20 inside a room at the Red Top Motel, 7217 E. Trent. The woman who called police was not the boy’s mother. Paramedics rushed the boy to a hospital where he continues to improve, Stephens said.

The investigation was hindered by witnesses who admitted using methamphetamine and had trouble recalling times and dates, he said.

“Detectives did an excellent job of sifting through the gray areas and establishing probable cause to make an arrest,” Stephens said. “We believe the person who committed the assault is in custody.”

Investigators interviewed a witness who said she saw Quesnell throw his biological son across a room into a wall. Quesnell’s son was 3 when the incident occurred a few days before Christmas 2004, according to court records.

As a result of that case, Quesnell also faces a count of second-degree assault of a child. He remains in custody without bond, and declined to speak with a reporter late Monday.

The 16-month-old boy’s mother, Amanda Slay, told investigators that she started dating Quesnell four months ago. She believes most of the injuries to her son came five days prior to the case being reported to authorities, according to court records.

On March 16, Slay noticed a large lump on the left side of her son’s head and a burn on his right foot that was covered with a large clear blister.

“Upon checking the child further, she discovered what appeared to be an adult-sized bite mark on the back of his right arm and another similar bite mark or pinch mark on his left ear,” Detective Kip Hollenbeck wrote in his report. “The bruises on his ribs appeared to have been caused by fingers gripping too tightly.”

Slay said she confronted Quesnell about the injuries. He replied, “I might have played with him too rough,” according to court records. Quesnell said the boy may have hurt his head by falling off the couch.

Slay was angry and didn’t contact her boyfriend for two days, but Quesnell kept calling her. She eventually agreed to get back together, Hollenbeck wrote.

On March 17, Slay took the boy to see his biological father. He noticed the boy was sluggish and suggested that Slay take him to the hospital.

The next day, Slay and Quesnell rented a room at the Red Top Motel. She noticed her son’s head was beginning to swell and she became concerned, Hollenbeck wrote.

On March 19, the boy’s head had swelled so that the lump covered the majority of the boy’s head. “His eyes were becoming black and blue,” Hollenbeck wrote. She took the boy to Holy Family Hospital that afternoon.

Dr. Mark Whitman diagnosed the child with “parietal hematoma” and sinusitis. He prescribed medication and instructed Slay to ice her son’s swollen head.

Slay didn’t obtain the prescription that day and returned to the motel. Instead of icing the bulging lump on her son’s head, Slay told Hollenbeck that she used “cold rags.”

On March 20, Slay went to get the prescription. When she returned, her son was sitting upright on the floor and screaming. “Quesnell was ignoring the child and sitting at the table.” He told Slay that he may have set him down too hard on the floor, according to court records.

“Amanda admitted she was very concerned about J.J.C’s welfare but that Eric Quesnell kept telling her that the child would be OK,” Hollenbeck wrote.

At about 6 p.m. that same day, Slay finally called Holy Family Hospital but was too upset to talk to nurses, court records state. “Quesnell talked to the nurse for a few minutes then discontinued the conversation.”

A friend, Candice Ray, came into the motel room at 6:45 p.m. and was shocked at the child’s condition, Hollenbeck wrote. Quesnell continued to insist the boy was fine. Ray then left the room and called 911, records state.

During later questioning, Slay told Hollenbeck that she suspected Quesnell had hurt her boy on numerous other occasions in the 25 to 30 times she left the toddler in his care.

“She estimated that on 15 to 20 of those occasions, the child had suffered some type of suspicious injury,” Hollenbeck wrote.

An arrest warrant for Quesnell was issued last Friday, but he had traveled to the Tri-Cities, Stephens said. He was arrested Sunday when he returned to Spokane.

“Interestingly enough, the mother of the child was with (Quesnell) earlier” Sunday, Stephens said.

Hollenbeck questioned Quesnell on March 20. He initially denied injuring the boy but later said he may have tickled him too hard.

Quesnell – who said he uses “opiates, methadone, hydros and Percocet” on a daily basis – described the toddler as a “real momma’s boy” and said he was upset that Slay never disciplined her child, police said.

The suspect told Hollenbeck that on one occasion, he was trying to make the boy laugh and was tickling his thighs. “For no apparent reason, he decided to bite the child,” Hollenbeck wrote. “He leaned over and bit the child’s thigh.”

When asked if it was normal for him to amuse children by biting them, Quesnell said he only did the same things that were done to him when he was a child, Hollenbeck wrote.

During the investigation, Hollenbeck spoke to Michelle Schultz. She had befriended Amanda Slay while working together at Value Village, Hollenbeck wrote.

Quesnell and Slay were visiting her Medical Lake home a few days before Christmas 2004 when Schultz said she heard Quesnell’s 3-year-old son screaming. She walked out and saw Quesnell holding the boy by the shoulders, court records state.

“Quesnell picked the child up and literally threw him ‘across the living room,’ ” Hollenbeck wrote. “The child flew through the air approximately 5 to 6 feet before slamming into the wall.”