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[AP]

Three Arrested In Death Of 2-Year-Old

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Three people were arrested Thursday in Vinton County on charges ranging from murder to child endangering after a two-year-old child was hospitalized with major injuries, authorities say.
Dustin Hutchison
Dustin Hutchison

Dustin T. Hutchison, Shannon Patterson and Dorothea Morrison were all arrested in connection with the incident, according to a press release by the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office.

The Vinton County Sheriff’s Office received a report in February from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus that a two-year-old child from Vinton County was brought in with a “major head injury,” according to the release.
“They stated that the mother, Shannon Patterson of Sam Russell Road, McArthur, and her mother, Dorothea Morrison, drove the (2-year-old) to (OhioHealth O’Bleness) Memorial Hospital in Athens because the child was vomiting,” the release stated.
The child reportedly died on Feb. 25.
Shannon Patterson
Shannon Patterson

Following an investigation by the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office, Vinton County Childrens Services and the Crimes Against Children unit of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, all three were arrested.

Patterson, 27, and Hutchison, 26, also of Sam Russell Road, was arrested and each charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, endangering children and tampering with evidence, according to the release.

Dorothea Morrison
Dorothea Morrison

Morrison, 56, also of Sam Russell Road, was charged with endangering children.

All three were taken to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail where they remain held. No bond hearing has been scheduled, according to jail records.

Sheriff Shawn Justice was unavailable for comment on Friday morning.