Mother burned her baby with boiling water because she wanted a boy

Utah.- A woman identified as Lizbeth Hurtado-Bretón was arrested and faces charges of torture and aggravated child abuse, after being accused of brutally mistreating her baby of just four months old, whom she allegedly burned with boiling water and subjected to multiple physical assaults. According to the Office of Child and Family Services notified the authorities after the baby was hospitalized at the end of September with severe burns, fractures, cerebral hemorrhage and wounds in different stages of healing. The minor’s father told the police that the mother constantly abused her because she wished she had had a son. He assured that Hurtado-Bretón did not act with the same violence towards her other older children. The man also recounted that, on one occasion, upon returning from work, he found the baby with adhesive tape on her mouth, as the mother told him that she “wouldn’t stop crying.” In addition, he reported that he had seen her forcing the girl to eat, causing her to choke, and that she even tied her arms behind her back to immobilize her.

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Regarding the burns on her face, the woman stated that she had tried to “relieve the congestion” of the baby by holding her over a pot of boiling water. Although she admitted that she felt heat on her hands, she said that she “didn’t think about how the steam would affect the girl’s face.” Subsequently, she wiped her face with a napkin, which caused the skin to come off. The father gave authorities photographs and videos showing the baby with tape over her mouth and being force-fed. Lizbeth Hurtado-Bretón was arrested on Tuesday and taken to the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, where she faces charges of child torture and two additional counts of aggravated child abuse.