Woman Accused of Burning 9-year-old Foster Child

A 72-year-old woman has been accused of burning her foster child with a heated potato masher several times.

Monday, August 3rd 2009, 5:58 pm

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

MIDWEST CITY, Oklahoma -- A 72-year-old woman has been accused of burning her foster child with a heated potato masher several times.

An arrest warrant is expected to be issued on Tuesday for Joycelyn Louis, who faces one count of child abuse.

The 9-year-old was examined at Children's Hospital and was diagnosed with second and third degree burns on his arm and leg.

"At first he was telling us that his mom was cooking and making mashed potatoes and the masher fell and struck his body and burned him," said Midwest City Police Major Sid Porter.

But the story didn't add up, and eventually the 9-year old told investigators it was punishment for allegedly stealing money from his foster mother.

"She would heat it up on the oven and touch it on his skin as punishment," said Major Porter."This is one of the worse cases of child abuse we've ever seen. To see the marks on the child...it's just hard to believe how someone could do that to a little boy."

Louis' attorney, Gary Higginbotham, said his client acted "grossly out of character," and was not "in her right mind." Higginbotham said his client just moved to Oklahoma from California where she has a very long and clean history of being a proud foster parent. In fact, he said she has fostered more than 100 kids over the past 30 years and has never had one complaint or investigation filed against her.

"I'm not justifying this, but we're looking to see if her recent health issues are to blame for her actions," said Higginbotham.

Louis was hospitalized in February after her heart stopped working and was unconscious for several days, according to Higginbotham.

"We're exploring the possibility that her health problems had an effect on her mental condition," said Higginbotham.

Midwest City police said as soon as the warrant is issued, Louis will be taken into custody as long as she is done with her current medical treatments. Louis is currently at an undisclosed facility receiving medical attention, but her attorney won't go into further details.

The child is currently in protective custody.

NEWS 9 contacted the California Department of Social Services who placed the boy with his foster mother before moved to Oklahoma. A spokeswoman said the agency is now looking into the case.

Read the police affidavit about Louis' child abuse charge.

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