Louisville Couple Charged After 3-Year-Old Boy Suffers Severe Burns from Scalding Water

A Kentucky mother and her boyfriend are charged with child abuse, accused of delaying medical treatment for a toddler's severe burns, which police say were inflicted intentionally.

Louisville, Kentucky-A 3-year-old boy is recovering from serious burns to his hands and forearms, and the adults responsible for his care are now facing criminal charges. Louisville Metro Police say the boy’s mother, 24-year-old Breanna Nicole Lair, and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Jacob Sneed, have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, police received a call on Sunday reporting that a young child was being transported to Norton Children’s Hospital with burns covering both hands and forearms. Investigators allege that the child sustained the injuries after Sneed intentionally submerged his hands in extremely hot water while Lair was away from the home.

Authorities say Lair left her son alone with Sneed for approximately one hour, despite a prior directive from Child Protective Services explicitly ordering her not to do so. That order stemmed from an ongoing investigation into a previous allegation of abuse involving the same child.

After learning about the injuries, Lair allegedly waited up to three hours before seeking medical help. She also reportedly misled medical staff about how the child was burned, according to police.

Officers wrote in the affidavit that the combination of Sneed’s deliberate actions and Lair’s failure to protect her son resulted in serious physical harm. Police have not yet released the child’s current condition, and it remains unclear who has custody of him while his mother is in jail.

Lair and Sneed were both booked into the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, where they remain held as of Wednesday morning. They are scheduled to appear in court on April 15.

Lair is listed as an instructional assistant at Wheeler Elementary School in the Jefferson County Public Schools system. School officials have not publicly commented on her current employment status.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not ruled out additional charges as they work to determine the full scope of the abuse.