Statement on the Near Fatality of a one-year-old boy

On October 7, 2017, the Arizona Department of Child Safety received a report regarding a near fatality of a one-year-old boy.

The report stated the child had arrived at a Tucson hospital unresponsive and in critical condition.

Hospital staff determined the child had a fractured skull, brain bleeding, retinal hemorrhages, and bruising throughout his body.

Prior to arriving at the hospital, the child was being cared for by his mother’s live-in boyfriend, Cody Thomas.

During a Tucson police investigation, Mr. Thomas admitted that he had jumped off a counter and landed on the one-year-old child. 

Instead of seeking immediate medical treatment for the child, Mr. Thomas put the child to bed. He contacted emergency personnel only after the child began to display seizure-like symptoms.

Mr. Thomas was arrested on October 7, 2017, and charged with three counts of child abuse.

On January 10, 2018, a grand jury charged the child’s mother, Anissa Winders, with three counts of child abuse related to the incident in October.

Upon his release from the hospital, the child was taken into DCS custody and placed with an unlicensed relative.

There were no other children residing in the home.

DCS will continue working with the Tucson Police Department to ensure justice for the child.

Mr. Thomas has no prior DCS history.

DCS does have one prior report involving the one-year-old child and Ms. Winders.

On April 14, 2017, DCS received a report alleging neglect to the child by Ms. Winders.  

The report stated that while driving, the mother threatened to intentionally crash her car with the child inside the vehicle.

The subsequent DCS investigation determined the child was being cared for by a maternal relative during the alleged incident.

The child’s father, who was assessed by DCS as a safe parent, took the child into his care. 

DCS offered services to the mother and the report was unsubstantiated.