Houston Mother Arrested for Mutilating Her Baby Son

When Katherine "Katie" Nadal took her 5-week old son to the hospital on March 13, 2007, and claimed that the family's Dachshund had attacked her child, the dog was taken into custody by the police and examined by a licensed veterinarian with the City of Houston's Animal Control Department.

Suspicion turned upon Ms. Nadal after the veterinarian examined the dog, "Shorty," and photographs of the baby's grievous injuries. The baby's genitals had been completely severed. The police were advised that no blood or human tissue was on the animal or in its mouth. The doctor concluded that the dog could not have caused the injuries.

Nadal, who is 25 and a former cocktail waitress, was arrested on May 11, 2007 and charged with the felony offense of injury to a child, after arriving at the Harris County Juvenile Justice Center with her mother and attorney. According to the criminal complaint, the mother "intentionally and knowingly" caused serious bodily injury to her son by "using a sharp instrument" to remove his genitals.

Nadal has refused to speak to police ever since her initial interview with Houston police. At that time, she told police that after the baby's father left for work, she put the baby down for a nap and went to sleep. She claimed that the baby's whimpering awakened her, and that she saw the dog standing over the baby. The criminal complaint states that she told police she "swatted" the dog to get it away from the baby, then ran to a neighbor for help. She has given no statements since that time. She has not been allowed to see her son since the injuries were discovered because she tested positive for several drugs on the day after the attack.

The complaint accuses Nadal of causing the injuries "by manner and means unknown," However, Dr. Rebecca Girardet, medical director for the Child Resource and Education Team, and an associate professor of pediatrics for the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, told police the baby was "gravely mutilated with his genitalia being removed by a sharp instrument." She indicated that, in her opinion, if a dog had caused the injuries, the edges of the wound would have been ragged, but the wound had straight edges and an even base. Dr. Girardet said that the child faces lifelong suffering.

The puppy that Nadal blamed for the attack has since been released and adopted.

The injured baby has undergone multiple surgeries and was only released from the hospital three weeks ago. A paternal aunt in Deer Park is temporarily caring him for. After Nadal's arrest, a custody hearing was held and the court agreed to allow the father, 36-year-old Camden Gothia, to move into his sister's Deer Park home to be with his son and help take care of him. Gothia will live in a detached apartment on the property and will help care for his son, Olguin said.
"Given what we know today, we will probably work toward terminating her parental rights and reuniting the child with his father or another relative," said Harris County Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin. She also said that a DNA test was pending to confirm Gothia's paternity.

______________________________
Sources:
Texas Mother Accused of Mutilating Baby, Juan A. Lozano, Guardian Unlimited
Mom of Mutliated Baby in HPD Custody, Peggy O'Hare, Houston Chronicle