A LITTLE boy who died after months of alleged abuse at the hands of his family had blood pooled in his eyes when he arrived at hospital, court documents show.
Keaton Boggs, five, also had a long laceration on his genitals, which police were later told had been caused by his grandmother Michelle Boggs trying to cut his penis off.
Keaton was admitted to the hospital last month in West Virginia, where staff members quickly alerted authorities due to the nature of the boy’s injuries.
His head trauma was so severe that the boy had bleeding on the brain and irreversible brain damage.
Hospital workers became suspicious when the defendants’ stories did not explain the injuries Keaton had sustained.
Horrific new details were revealed in a court hearing this week that was first covered by WV News.
The hearing was to decide if Michelle could get bail in the case set at $50,000 or less.
Her lawyer argued that she felt unsafe behind bars due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In response, Harrison County Assistant Prosecutor Ginma Snuffer recounted details of Keaton’s condition when he arrived at the hospital just two days before his death.
The boy arrived with old and new injuries after he was found unconscious by his aunt and grandmother.
Instead of calling an ambulance for the boy, the two drove him to the hospital.
Keaton had to be intubated and resuscitated immediately, and was quickly airlifted to another hospital.
Once there, doctors quickly realized the boy had a ‘catastrophic brain injury’ that would have left him with brain damage even if he had survived the abuse.
They also found bleeding on the brain, bruising to his entire face and collarbone.
There was also the 4cm laceration on his genitalia and damage to his testicles.
Snuffer told the court that the injuries came from his grandmother.
She told him she would cut it off if he didn’t stop playing with it,” Snuffer told the judge.
Boggs had her release denied, as did her daughter and son-in-law a week prior.
All three maintain their innocence in the case.
At the time of his alleged murder, Keaton’s mother Jessika Bishop-Holt had been eagerly anticipating a reunion with her son.
She had been striped of visitation rights due to her past struggles with drugs, but after getting clean was hopeful she might get to reunite with the youngest of her five children.
Jessika’s mother Patty Holt said that Michelle had tried to block that from happening though in a Facebook post.
“You know Michelle Boggs you told me my daughter would never get her son so I guess you were right,” wrote Patty.
Facebook posts show that Jessika had a contentious relationship with her ex’s family.
Michelle, 48, as well as Peter Wodzinski, 32, and his wife Chasity Wodzinski, 29, are now behind bars.
Chasity and Michelle were the boy’s biological aunt and grandmother respectively, while Peter was his uncle.
They are now facing 15 years to life in prison for their alleged crime.
Chastity had shared the photos of a bruised Keaton at his birthday party on Twitter, though when a relative reached out to her she claimed it was because the dog had knocked Keaton down the stairs.
All three are being held without bond at the North Central Regional Jail.
The Sun spoke with a family member who said they were shocked about the arrest of Chastity and Peter, noting they appeared to be great parents to their own three children.
That same individual was less surprised however to see Michelle be arrested for such a heinous crime.
“Michelle is an habitual liar always has been,” said the family member.
“Michelle is an attention seeker and will do anything for attention. She has lied about her own medical issues to get attention.”
The last photo Michelle posted on Facebook prior to her arrest was of her grandson, battered and bruised at his birthday with his three cousins.
He still had a big smile on his face.
Patty Holt later posted Michelle’s mugshot on her Facebook, alleging: “She took my grandson’s life. God help her.”
