In a disquieting case from Rankin, a mother along with her boyfriend are now formally accused of inflicting grave harm upon two toddlers, one aged two and the other three. The youngsters were transported to UPMC Children’s Hospital by their mother, Haley Province, as reported on November 5 by WPXI. The 2-year-old bore several fractures, including those to the leg, hand, arms, shoulder, and rib, alongside a slew of cuts, bruises, and, disturbingly enough, a positive test result for cocaine.
Doctors have gone to record to say that the nature and stages of the injuries, which spanned from recent to approximately three months prior, were indicative of punishment meted out maliciously and could not have occurred through accidental means. In a statement detailed by Audacy, it was also noted that the 3-year-old was suffering from fractures to both collarbones and a rib and had sustained an injury to their neck. The allegations have consequently resulted in Haley Province and her boyfriend, Bobby Bender, being charged with six counts of aggravated assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Province, as per the criminal complaint, recounted to detectives that she had left her children in Bender’s care on an occasion about a week before the hospital visit. She noticed that the 2-year-old was reluctant to stand subsequently, which progressed to an inability to stand and was accompanied by crying when attempts were made to have him do so. She denied witnessing Bender hit her children yet acknowledged seeing bruises on them after leaving them alone with him.
On his part, Bender conveyed to police that he regularly watched the children every Friday for a few hours while Province attended doctor’s appointments. He also claimed to have a history of cocaine use but professed to have been clean for around two weeks. He denied the presence of the substance around the children. Nonetheless, evidence suggested that both Bender and Province might have been involved not just in the consumption but also in the distribution of cocaine, substantiated by suspected cocaine residue found in their residence during a search warrant by authorities.
