Police say 1-year-old’s injuries likely happened in Spokane

The 1-year-old boy was unconscious, had a burned left foot, bruised ribs and a hematoma on his head that had swelled to the size of a grapefruit.

Someone among a group of people using methamphetamine inside a Spokane Valley motel room finally became alarmed enough Sunday evening to alert authorities. That concerned person wasn’t the boy’s mother, Spokane Police Sgt. Joe Peterson said.

The baby remains in serious condition at a hospital but is expected to recover, Peterson said.

“At this time in the investigation, we don’t know who is telling the truth or not,” Peterson said. “But it’s pretty obvious the baby didn’t do this to himself. The victim can’t speak for himself, so we have to figure out what happened.”

The baby was inside the Red Top Motel at 7217 E. Trent in the Valley. Spokane Police investigators took the case because the abuse probably happened in Spokane, Peterson said.

Police haven’t named any of the people in the room. Detective Kip Hollenbeck continues to question them to sort out how the boy was injured.

The mother told investigators that she left the infant with her boyfriend, but he denies harming the baby, police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a Monday press release.

One person inside the room told police that the abuse of the baby started sometime last week, Peterson said.

“In the condition they were in, they kind of lost track of time,” Peterson said.

Child Protective Services will take custody of the boy, Peterson said.