A Bremerton, Washington, mother who is an active member of the U.S. Navy was arrested Tuesday for inflicting "severe and horrific trauma" on her newborn twins, police said.
Police began investigating in May 2019 when the mother brought the twins into the hospital because one of them had a swollen right leg. Hospital staff determined that the baby suffered a fractured femur by "non-accidental trauma."
The infant was transferred to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma where the baby was found to also have suffered 11 rib fractures and a fractured clavicle.
The mother told hospital staff that the other twin also had a swollen left leg. That infant was also evaluated and hospital staff determined that the baby had a fractured femur, five rib fractures, both clavicles fractured and a torn membrane beneath the tongue.
The twins were taken into protective custody by the Bremerton Police Department and Child Protective Services, according to police.
Medical staff at the hospital documented that the mother "showed no emotion or concern about her babies having horrific broken bone injuries, and no emotion about the babies being placed with CPS."
A two-month investigation that included interviews with the parents, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, medical staff and analysis of cellphone data assisted in the mother's arrest.
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