Stigler Woman Faces Child Abuse Charges In Death Of 8-Month-Old

A Haskell County woman faces four counts of child abuse, stemming from the death of an 8-month-old boy in 2011.

Randi Lunceford was 27 years old in 2011, when her 8-month-old son died.

She now faces four counts of child abuse.

Neighbors tell us Lunceford was living with her mother in Stigler after the baby was born in August 2010.

Prosecutors say, two months later, in October, the child was taken to the hospital after suffering brain injuries. He was eventually placed in the custody of his biological father.

Then, in January 2011, the child suffered two broken ankles, and in March, he had a broken leg. Prosecutors say Lunceford was taking care of him both times.

Early in the morning on April 11, 2011, investigators say Lunceford turned off the equipment used to monitor her son's tracheotomy and feeding tube and went back to bed.

Her son died the next day.

We tried to reach Lunceford to get her side of the story and learned she and her mother ran a hair salon in downtown Stigler. A woman identifying herself as Lunceford's mother said she was not there.

The woman did not want to appear on camera, but she did come to her daughter's defense.

"I can tell you what my side of the story is, I mean, nobody in our family ever did anything to hurt the baby. He was a very ill baby," she said.

The woman then directed us to the family's attorney.

Lunceford's attorney declined to speak with us on camera, but he says she maintains her innocence and says the medical evidence was misinterpreted by investigators, and there simply is no evidence of child abuse.

We talked with several others who knew Lunceford, all of whom also declined to go on camera, but they said they were shocked to hear of the allegations, saying she was a very nice and friendly person.

Lunceford's trial is scheduled to begin next Tuesday in Stigler.