"Toddler Jane" DUNNIGAN - 2 yo - Abingdon (NE of Baltimore) MD

An Abingdon man and his girlfriend were charged with first-degree child abuse last week after allegedly beating her 2-year-old son and locking him in a closet.Aberdeen police began investigating allegations of child abuse in September after someone anonymously reported Erin Dunnigan, 21, was allegedly beating her 2-year-old son, according to charging documents.The officer met with Dunnigan and her son and noticed bruises on the little boy. Dunnigan told police her son was an active child and sustained the injuries while playing, according to charging documents.Several days later, a social worker and an Aberdeen police detective returned to the home and noticed additional injuries on the 2-year-old, according to charging documents.Police interviewed Dunnigan, who initially said her son got all of the bruises from playing, then said she did grab his arm when he was throwing a fit, according to charging documents.Detectives met with Kitner’s sister, who said she became concerned when she walked into Kitner and Dunnigan’s home one day to pick up a movie and didn’t see anyone inside.She opened the door to her brother’s room and the 2-year-old came running out, according to charging documents.She said Dunnigan told her Dunnigan and Kitner’s discipline which sometimes allegedly includes locking the child in the closet without clothing or food, according to charging documents.Kitner’s sister told police she saw a handprint on the boy’s face and what looked like marks from a lashing all over the boy’s body, according to charging documents.The sister said Dunnigan told her Kitner allegedly hit the boy with a piece of tubing he brought home from work, according to charging documents.Kitner’s sister described the marks on the child without seeing pictures and said she called police after that discussion with Dunnigan, according to charging documents.The child was removed from Dunnigan’s custody and taken to stay with his biological father, according to charging documents.Cloyd H. Kitner III, 21, of the 2400 block of Old Emmorton Road in Abingdon, was charged Oct. 5 with first- and second-degree child abuse, first- and second-degree assault, confining an unattended child and reckless endangerment. He was being held at the Harford County Detention Center Thursday in lieu of $250,000 bail.Dunnigan, whose new address is unknown, is facing identical charges and was being held without bail at the detention center Thursday.