Trial for mother who endangered child starts

Jury selection and opening statements are expected today in a trial in Hancock County Common Pleas Court for a McComb mother charged with endangering her infant son in 2018. Grace E. Flower, 29, of McComb, was charged with the second-degree felony after the boy, then 4 months old, was found to have a fracture in his upper left arm during an examination at Physicians Plus Urgent Care, court documents state. Examinations by other physicians determined that the child's fracture appeared to be the result of a non-accidental injury, court documents state. X-rays and other testing later revealed that the child had suffered multiple fractures in various stages of healing: on a shoulder blade; the clavicle; a rib. The child's doctors, including those on a child abuse multidisciplinary team at Nationwide Children's Hospital, in Columbus, and a geneticist, concluded that the injuries suffered by the child were in various stages of healing and were consistent with non-accidental injuries, a court filing stated. Further, a child abuse pediatrician at Nationwide Children's Hospital, who is also an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, concluded that the child's fractures were consistent with non-accidental injuries as a result of trauma. The boy is no longer in the home with his mother. He is living with another family. The trial is expected to last through this week and into next. Wilin: 419-427-8413