LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Three women were taken into custody with one accused of breaking a child's leg at a daycare and the others suspected of trying to cover it up, according to investigators.
The Lexington County Sheriff's Department said that the investigation began with a call from a concerned mother whose child had been injured at Windsor Academy in Lexington.
"The daycare told the mother her child's leg was hurt in the railing of a crib," Sheriff Jay Koon said.
With doctors finding that the child's leg was actually broken, additional investigation painted a more concerning picture of what happened.
The sheriff said that, initially, detectives requested to see video from inside Windsor Academy. However, they were told by two women, 38-year-old Amy Marie Grice and 49-year-old Jannie H. Locklear, that the camera system wasn't working when the child was injured.
"We eventually recovered the video and determined both women took steps to delete the video after they watched it," Sheriff Koon said.
As a result, both women were charged with obstructing justice.
The recovered video also led to charges against another woman, 36-year-old Shayna Nicole McKnight, who officers say was in the video. Investigators said McKnight was seen forcefully folding the child's legs under the child's body and flipping the child into a crib - all while still holding the child's leg, according to the arrest.
“Based on detectives’ review of the video, the child was crawling and playing without any visible pain before the incident, then crying and unable to put weight on the leg after the incident,” Koon said.
Sheriff Koon added that McKnight was charged with inflicting great bodily harm upon a child.
All three women are now being held at the Lexington County Detention Center as both Lexington County investigators and the South Carolina Department of Social Services investigated.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's department said it's unclear whether there may be additional victims at this point, adding that investigators follow the evidence while also looking into anything brought to their attention.