Arizona woman accused in child-abuse death of her grandson

A woman booked on suspicion of murder and child abuse in the death of her 11-year-old grandson in an Arizona hotel room is accused of striking the boy in the head with a ratchet and failing to seek medical treatment for his injuries, according to court records released Tuesday.

The boy was found unresponsive Sunday at the Scottsdale hotel where he and his 9-year-old half brother lived for the past two years with their grandmother, Stephanie Marie Davis and her husband, Thomas James Desharnais.

Both Davis and Desharnais have been charged with murder and child abuse. Investigators and court documents say there is a history of severe mistreatment of both children, including physical and verbal abuse. Authorities say the 9-year-old has been placed in foster care.

Investigators say that Desharnais told them that he heard Davis hit the 11-year-old with the ratchet three times on Saturday afternoon. Nearly a day later, Davis called 911 to say she found her grandson unresponsive in a bathtub in their room and that the child had been committing acts of self-harm all day, such as striking himself in the forehead with a wrench.

Davis said she hid the tool, but the child later got hold of a knife and cut himself while in the bathroom, according to court records.

Davis told police that the boy subsequently wanted to take a bath, so she ran the water and left him alone. She said she later found him unresponsive, removed him from the tub, started CPR efforts and called 911.

Authorities said Davis and Desharnais didn’t seek medical attention for the child and that Desharnais failed to stop Davis from assaulting her two grandsons.

The Associated Press could not immediately locate attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

“The evidence that the city of Scottsdale has is literally just circumstantial evidence. And those kids were always taken care of,” Davis said at her initial court appearance Monday.

Desharnais told investigators that Davis got custody of the boys after the children’s mother lost her parental rights in 2015.

Investigators say Davis became more abusive to the boys in recent months by speaking to them cruelly and physically assaulting them, including pulling their hair, striking them with a broom handle and using pliers to pinch and bend their fingers backward, according to court records.

The Arizona Department of Child Safety said it received a report in 2017 that Davis had physically abused a child, but the allegation wasn’t substantiated.

Nearly two months later, Davis and Desharnais were accused of abusing the same child, but investigators didn’t find evidence to support the allegation, the child welfare agency said.

Later in 2017, investigators were unable to find evidence to support another allegation that Desharnais had physically abused a child. ____

Associated Press writer Terry Tang contributed to this report.