Tulsa Police Arrest Mother For Child Neglect; Looking For Boyfriend

A Tulsa woman is arrested for neglecting her infant son; police believe her boyfriend was abusing the child and she did nothing about it.

Officers said 27-year-old Heather Terrell put her boyfriend, 30-year-old Dustin Ortega, in charge of babysitting her three kids - 6, 4 and 8 months - while she was at work.

She said she met her boyfriend at a halfway house where he was completing a prison sentence for possession of controlled drugs.

When Ortega was released from DOC custody in November, police said he moved in with Terrell and her three children.

Officers said she started noticing bruising on the infant, and when she confronted her boyfriend he said the injuries were a result of the child falling from trying to walk. Police said Terrell didn't do anything.

Then, Sunday, police said she took the infant to the hospital because she said he wasn't using his left arm after being in Ortega's care.

Staff at the OSU Medical Center discovered the child had a fracture of the left upper arm. They also found an older healing fracture of the left hand and a healed fracture of the sixth rib. The child also had bruises on his right arm, right upper leg and cheek.

According to reports, Ortega told Terrell he accidentally stepped on the boy's hand and smashed his finger. Police said she accepted the explanation and thought the swelling was a normal reaction to the accident and didn't seek treatment.

Terrell was arrested for child neglect and her holder children were placed in DHS custody.

Police are still looking for Ortega who they believe not only abused the infant but used drugs around the three children.