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Halifax Regional Medical Center staff and a medical examiner observed burn marks, abrasions and bruising on a 4-year-old Seaboard boy whose mother is currently charged with intentional felony child abuse causing serious bodily injury.
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Norwood
The details of the injuries sustained by the boy are documented in a search warrant granted Captain Patrick Jacobs of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted the Seaboard Police Department and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in the case.
Jacobs applied for the search warrant on September 30 after the boy, who was later pronounced dead, was found unresponsive in the hallway of the residence where he lived with his mother, Sherika Norwood, 26, on East Church Street in Seaboard.
In the search warrant, Jacobs noted he was looking for evidence of blood, items used as weapons to inflict burn marks, items used as weapons to inflict abrasions, bruises and puncture wounds and any other items used to assault the child.
He also stated in the document he was looking for liquid fluid such as Kool-Aid as the initial report given to Northampton County Central Communications was the child choked on the beverage and EMS was needed.
Jacobs wrote in the search warrant application he was looking for any other objects containing blood and any other evidence that constituted the crime of assault inflicting serious bodily injury of a child under 12.
Law enforcement seized a liquid red substance from a white Styrofoam cup, one black belt and one white belt.
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Jacobs wrote central communications received a call to respond to East Church Street in Seaboard to a child choking on Kool-Aid.
Deputy W. Killian responded and observed the boy lying on the floor and unresponsive.
“The mother stated her child was found on the floor in the hallway of the home unresponsive from choking on Kool-Aid,” Jacobs wrote in the search warrant application.
At HRMC, personnel notified law enforcement to respond as the juvenile had multiple bruises, scars and burn marks all over his body.
Detective J. Jenkins of the sheriff’s office and Seaboard police Chief Virginia Powell arrived at the hospital. They noticed a large open wound on his right buttock, which the medical examiner said was an apparent burn mark. The officers also observed burn marks and abrasions on the left buttock that appeared to be old and healing wounds.
There were extensive large amounts of bruising all over the boy’s chest and stomach area, Jacobs wrote in the application, as well as bruising on the left shoulder, left hip, right hip down to the right knee, left leg and right forearm.
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Jacobs noted more injuries to the child in the search warrant application.
The boy had abrasions and lacerations on the left shoulder. His collarbone area had an open wound with blood present and “a busted bottom lip.”
The juvenile had abrasions on his right temple, knees and left forearm. “The juvenile had new and old scars, bruises and abrasions over his entire body. The juvenile had punctures, holes, healing wounds on his shoulder, legs and back.”
There were abrasions and cut marks over the entire back of his body, Jacobs wrote.
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Norwood told law enforcement, Jacobs wrote, the child’s biological father lived in Virginia and she allowed the boy to stay with him from September 26 to 29.
However, in interviews with her, she was unsure of the father’s information, his phone number and where he lived in Virginia. “The father had not been involved in the child’s life before and this was the first time.”
Jacobs wrote the medical examiner’s conclusion was the injuries ranged from approximately days to weeks old and were in various stages of healing and injury. “The mother stated she noticed the bruises and injuries on September 29 but failed to contact law enforcement or the department of social services for fear the child would be taken away from her.”
Powell, who spoke with Norwood’s current boyfriend, said the child was home on September 29 and never went anywhere with his biological father.
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In the arrest warrant, Agent T. Johnson of the SBI, noted he found probable cause to believe Norwood unlawfully, willfully and intentionally committed assault resulting in serious bodily injury, beating the child with a belt and buckle over the child’s entire body causing open wounds and punctures.
Those wounds, he wrote in the warrant, “resulted in the permanent loss and impairment of any meaningful and emotional function of the victim.”
Investigation by the SBI and Seaboard Police Department continues to determine whether more charges will be filed against the woman as well as the proximate cause of death.
