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What started out as an ambulance run for a child with a medical emergency on March 21 ended with a couple being charged this week with severely abusing their twin daughters.
The married Tullytown couple – Michael K. Shales, 30, and Melissa A. Shales, 25 – were arrested and charged Sunday after an extensive investigation conducted by borough police and Bucks County Detectives. The girls and their 2-year-old brother were taken away from their parents by county authorities in March when they were 2-months-old and the abuse investigation began.
According to court papers filed by authorities, the two infant girls suffered various injuries at the hands of their parents, with one suffering a seriously injured leg. Police said a doctor reported that both of the girls were undernourished and had various injuries that were indicative of shaking. During the first week and a half that the one infant was out of her parents’ care, she gained 1.5 pounds, authorities stated.
The girl that was most seriously injured not only suffered serious injuries to her leg but also had a laceration to her vagina. Michael Shales claimed the injuries were consistent with wiping the baby in the wrong direction. A doctor at St. Christopher’s Hospital said the injuries were not consistent with the claim of hard wiping, police said.
Melissa Shales told investigators the girl’s leg “popped out” after she had pulled the girl up by it in the apartment two weeks prior to March 21. In addition, police learned from Melissa Shales that her and her husband had tried to twist and pop the girl’s leg back into place.
During an argument hours before medics were called, the girl with the leg injury was allegedly tossed into a cast iron rail of a day bed when Melissa Shales’ lost grip while holding the child by her pant leg and sleeve, according to Melissa Shales’ statement to police. Her husband relayed the couple noticed the child’s leg was injured and heard a “slight sound” as they moved it around. Despite the injury, neither parent elected to take the infant to the hospital or doctor’s office, police said.
A neighbor told police Melissa Shales stated she believed the child’s leg was broken and it appeared red and “very swollen,” court documents state.
The medical emergency that originally brought police to the Shales’ apartment at 555 Main Street was related to the infant with the serious leg injury choking earlier in the day.
![The mailboxes at 555 Main Street in Tullytown. Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com]()
The mailboxes at 555 Main Street in Tullytown.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Melissa Shales said the couple cut the girl’s gums when using their fingers to try to pull a piece of cotton out of the baby’s tiny mouth. The cotton, according to Michael Shales’ statement to police, was first noticed as he was watching her.
The child was first taken by medics to St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown and then rushed to St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia for treatment by their trauma center.
Neighbors advised police that there were issues with the infant earlier in the day. One neighbor said the girl was blue, was making a gurgling sound and had dried blood around her nose earlier in the day, authorities said. Michael Shales allegedly told a neighbor the girl was choking on cotton earlier and he stuck a pair of pliers down the baby’s throat.
A doctor at the hospital told investigators the child would not have been developmentally able to place something in her mouth, court papers stated.
During interviews with police, Melissa Shales “admitted to doing certain things out of anger to the children in front of Michael to get a reaction out of him.”
“Police investigation revealed that the apartment where the children were living was in a deplorable condition. There were clothes, toys, tools, soiled diapers and dirty dishes scattered throughout the living room, kitchen floor and bedrooms. The house was so cluttered that police were unavoidably stepping on items as they were walking. Police also noticed several rounds of .223 rifle ammunition lying on the floor which is accessible to the 2-year-old boy,” the affidavit of probable cause stated.
Investigators said they later discovered through witnesses that the condition of the Shales’ apartment was always cluttered and dirty.
Authorities told LevittownNow.com the 2-year-old brother of the twins did not appear to be abused and remains in protective custody along with his sisters.
The couple was arraigned Sunday night on charges of aggravated assault, conspiracy, endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment. District Judge Michael Gallagher set the couple’s bail at 10 percent of $500,000.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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