Glen Rose mother charged with putting 2-year-old daughter in oven
GLEN ROSE, Texas - Family members are asking for prayers for a North Texas toddler who was seriously burned when her mother placed her in an oven.
The girl’s mother, 35-year-old Tasha Hatcher, was arrested Thursday in Glen Rose and has been charged with injury to a child.
The Somervell County sheriff said Hatcher told deputies she put the 2-year-old in the oven. The sheriff did not elaborate on why.
FOX 4 has decided not to show the girl's face. She is being treated at Parkland Hospital with second and third degree burns across 60 percent of her body, according to family members.
Hatcher's next door neighbor, who asked that we not show her face or identify her by name, says her father-in-law was cutting the grass Thursday night, when he saw Hatcher behaving strangely.
“He saw her,” the neighbor said. “They were playing loud music and it was kind of unusual and saw her in the yard and she was making kind of weird gestures to him.”
Minutes later another neighbor heard Hatcher's daughter screaming. He ran over to the house and found the toddler in distress and called 911. It's not clear how long the child was in the oven.
Hatcher's close friend, who also asked that we not show her face or identify her by name, talked to FOX4 on Saturday. She said Hatcher has a troubled past but had turned her life around.
“She was really trying hard and I just don't know what could've been in her mind to call her to do something like this,” the friend said.
Investigators are looking into whether mental illness, drugs or alcohol may have been contributing factors.
A spokesperson for Child Protective Services confirmed the agency has taken custody of the girl. Her uncle said he and other relatives are not allowed to have any contact with her during the investigation.
Hatcher is being held on $300,000 bond.