Parents gave baby meth after she was badly burned, Texas cops say. ‘Outright torture’

A 1-year-old girl endured a “living hell” when she suffered liquid burns and was given meth to help with her pain, Texas cops say.

The “outright torture” the girl experienced led to charges against her parents, 31-year-old Amanda Mann and 30-year-old Dustin Lawrence, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a Monday, Nov. 6, news briefing.

Deputies learned the child suffered facial injuries and burns throughout her body when boiling liquid was spilled onto her Friday, Nov. 3, Salazar said. The parents tried to treat the baby by giving her burn ointment and injecting her with meth, according to the sheriff.

“The next day when the baby woke up and they pulled the sheets off her, her skin came off onto the sheets,” Salazar said.

Even when the baby began to have breathing issues, the parents waited more than 24 hours to take her to the hospital.

Several other children were living in the RV, including a 6-year-old boy who also tested positive for meth, authorities said. The kids were removed from the home.

The 1-year-old girl, Salazar said, only weighed 18 pounds. The RV was full of “filth,” putting the kids at risk of infection.

“I guarantee these kids had a living hell,” the sheriff said.

Mann and Lawrence were charged with child endangerment, child endangerment risking bodily injury, injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury and four counts of endangering a child with intent. They were jailed on $450,000 bonds.

Salazar called the case “infuriating” and referred to Mann and Lawrence as “monsters.”

“Based upon the level of outright torture this baby had to endure, I wish there was something else we could charge them with,” he said. “We have literally thrown every possible charge we could at these folks, and I hope to God they stay in jail for the better part of the rest of their lives.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 8:09 AM with the headline "Parents gave baby meth after she was badly burned, Texas cops say. ‘Outright torture’."