Barbara Lynn Woody, 55, faces a felony count of injury to a minor child, and could receive a penalty of up to life in prison, or up to one year in county jail and a $500 to $5,000 fine, court records state. Woody waived her right to a preliminary hearing in March.
Woody was charged in Sequoyah County District Court on Dec. 5 after allegedly admitting to police that she put a wash cloth in a five-month-old baby's mouth, and then placed her hand over his mouth to quiet him, according to court records.
Tonya Smith, the child's mother, took the baby to the emergency room at Sequoyah Memorial Hospital in Sallisaw for redness to the left side of his jaw, temple, eye, and head. Smith told hospital employees that when the baby's grandparents picked up the child from the day-care, Woody told them that her two-and-a half-year-old deaf grandson had hit the baby in the face with a small car two times before she could stop him.
A hospital nurse said the redness was not consistent with the markings of a toy, and had a striped pattern of redness, according to court records.
Woody is out of the Sallisaw City Jail on a $10,000 bond.
While the investigation and case continues, Woody's day-care was closed at the request of the Department of Human Services.
