BOONE COUNTY, Ky. — A mother and father are facing abuse charges after their daughter was seen being beaten and suffocated on video recording sent to authorities, the Boone County Sheriff's Office told WCPO on Monday.
33-year-old Carleena Webb was charged with one count of criminal abuse in the first degree. Her husband, 36-year-old Shaun Webb, faces 10 charges for criminal abuse in the first degree.
The report of child abuse at the Webbs' home was made Aug. 21. An out-of-state family member sent deputies video of a father physically abusing his 3-month-old daughter. The video, which recorded events Aug. 19, shows Shaun Webb slapping and suffocating the child, according to the sheriff's office.
The sheriff’s office said the video captured Webb’s 2-year-old son being present in the room while the abuse unfolded. As the investigation continued, detectives learned that Carleena Webb returned from work and confronted her husband after seeing the abuse take place on camera; however, she went back to work after the confrontation, leaving the children in his care.
Carleena Webb did not contact authorities to report the abuse, nor did she seek medical treatment for her daughter, according to the sheriff’s office. When questioned by detectives, Shaun Webb said he previously suffocated his now 2-year-old son on multiple occasions while he was an infant.
Webb told detectives that children are “like a dog, you have to train them and set boundaries," according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office. He said he was covering his daughter's mouth and nose “not to cause harm, but to deprive her of oxygen.”
Both Carleena and Shaun Webb are being held at the Boone County Jail. Bond has not been set for either suspect as of Monday.
