A 25-year-old Greenfield man is being held without bond after his 4-month-old child was found with hemorrhages investigators described as too numerous to count, along with two brain bleeds. Lance Kerschner was charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, a Level 3 felony, according to court documents.
The case began in July, when the Greenfield Police Department was contacted by the Department of Child Services about an incident involving the infant, according to Fox 59. Kerschner noticed the child was not moving and took the infant to a local hospital himself, the outlet reported. From there, the baby was eventually transported to a children's hospital to be monitored for two brain bleeds.
Court documents cited by the station say the infant's hemorrhages were “too numerous to count,” and that investigators determined the injuries were not consistent with a fall, instead pointing to inflicted trauma. In an initial interview, Kerschner claimed he had picked up the child after they woke from a nap, stepped forward and tripped on the couch, with the baby landing on the couch while he was holding them.
A Family Member's Account and a Shifting Explanation
In a follow-up interview, Kerschner reportedly gave a different account, saying he became overstimulated when he picked up the crying infant and that he did not remember what happened next. He also said he felt horrible after saying he had hurt his child, the station's report notes.
A family member told investigators that Kerschner gets loud and aggressive when frustrated and picks the child up more quickly in those moments, per the same account. Kerschner's initial hearing took place in Hancock County on Wednesday afternoon, and he remains held without bond pending his next court appearance.
A Statewide Pattern Among Indiana's Youngest Children
The case lands amid broader state data showing how often Indiana's youngest children bear the brunt of caregiver abuse and neglect. Fifty-nine Indiana children died from caregiver abuse or neglect in 2024, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, with annual totals ranging from a low of 50 in 2020 to a high of 61 in 2022. Of the victims counted in that 2024 report, 42, or 71%, were under age 3.
Separate reporting from WFYI found the Indiana Department of Child Services conducted 276 child-fatality investigations in 2024, with 59 attributed to abuse or neglect, and that 71% of those victims were also younger than 3. The outlet reported that Indiana logged 262 external-injury deaths among children in 2025, down from 302 the year before, while preliminary 2025 figures presented by DCS showed 28 child deaths caused by abuse or neglect.
