A mother accused of strangling her own daughter to get back at her boyfriend is behind bars. The woman's boyfriend was arrested last week. He's accused of beating the woman's four-year-old son so badly, he's now in coma.
Greenwood police were first tipped off to the abuse when the mother brought her son to the hospital with severe head injuries. When police were questioning her about the abuse, she first denied it, but later admitted both she and her boyfriend beat the children. Greenwood police say the abuse has been going on for at least 17 months.
Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said it's something he's never seen before.
Cooper said Jesse Pacheco and his girlfriend Jessica Arrowood would regularly abuse at least two of Arrowood's children whenever they were mad at each other. Arrowood is now under arrest for allegedly severely beating her five-year-old daughter, Alea.
Greenwood Police Department Commander Matt Fillenwarth said, "Alea was Pacheco's favorite and Arrowood would beat her to get back at him. She would pick the little girl up by her hair, choke her and then throw her around the room."
The probable cause affidavit said Arrowood had, "snatched Alea up by her hair, picked her up by her throat one-handed, threw her like a rag doll and wrapped her arms around Alea's throat."
Police said the last time Arrowood strangled her daughter was the day before Pacheco beat the four-year-old within inches of his life.
Court records detail the incident saying, "Alea stopped screaming and turned blue when Jessica began choking her...(Jessica Arrowood) threw Alea across the room."
Police say Arrowood also hit four-year-old Raymond. Investigators believe abuse against the boy could've been caught before he was hospitalized. Court documents say the daycare center Raymond went to saw the marks on him and told Jessica that they "wouldn't report her this time."
An administrator at Kid Co. Childcare Inc. initially denied neglecting the signs of abuse but then, a few mintues later, she changed her tune.
"The police was in on this, CPS was in on this, everything was done," she claimed. "I'm not arguing with you."
Greenwood police said they will be investigating the daycare.
Pacheco and Arrowood are both in jail on battery and neglect charges. Arrowood also faces strangulation charges.
The children are with child protective services. Police are investigating whether the other two children were also abused.
The four-year-old is still at Riley hospital in critical but stable condition.
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