"Toddler Jane" BUCKMAN - 4 yo/ Accused: Mother-Ashley Buckman and James Edwards - Phoenix AZ

A Phoenix woman and her boyfriend face
several counts of child abuse after the woman's 4-year-old daughter was
hospitalized with whip marks, cuts and bruising on her body, according
to a Phoenix Police Department spokesman.

The child was in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital Thursday, according to Sgt. Tommy Thompson.

Thompson said Ashley Buckman, 22, admitted
hitting the child because she "soiled herself in bed" and because she
was "acting naughty."

Thompson said the whip marks appeared to be inflicted with a clothes hanger.

Buckman faces four counts of child abuse charges and an additional charge of failing to protect a minor, Thompson said.

James Edwards, 22, the live-in boyfriend of the woman, faces two counts of child-abuse and failure to protect a minor.

Buckman and Edwards have a 1-year-old child together, but he is not the father of the 4-year-old, police said.

The child had also been scalded with hot
water, beaten repeatedly and had stopped breathing before she was taken
to the hospital, Thompson said.

Detectives said Edwards was responsible for the scald marks on the little girl.

The couple initially told police the girl was
with someone else when the abuse occurred, then admitted the child had
been in their care but minimized the degree to which the abuse happened,
Thompson said.

Thompson said police believe there was a history of abuse in the home.

Buckman and Edwards were arrested and booked into jail.

The child is now in custody of Child Protective Services.

The investigation continues, Thompson said.
http://www.kpho.com/story/18667350/pd-girl-4-whipped-beaten-scalded-mother-jailed