Fugitive couple, Jessica Linscott, 23, and her boyfriend Roland Dow, 27, were arrested at a Florida theme park after turning themselves over to New Hampshire authorities to face charges in the beating and burning of Linscott’s 3-year-old son.
After being on the run for two weeks, Linscott and Dow were arrested by federal marshals at Universal Studios on Wednesday evening. According to U.S. Deputy Marshal Jeffrey White, the couple also made stops in New York and New Jersey while making their way south.
District Attorney Jim Reams of Rockingham County, New Hampshire, says he expected Linscott and Dow to appear in court next week.
According to the Huffington Post, “Dow is charged with first- and second-degree assault. He and Linscott face multiple charges of child endangerment for failing to protect and get medical attention for [the child], who remains hospitalized at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth in Lebanon.”
Police reports state, Linscott’s boyfriend hit the child in the head with enough force to cause traumatic brain injury and seizures. There are also claims that Dow allegedly burnt the boy’s wrist and fingers.
Local tips helped authorities track Dow and Linscott to a Florida hotel and Universal Studios. During a telephone conversation with police, Dow and Linscott said the boy’s injuries were self-inflicted and they would go to the police station. But the couple never arrived.
The boy’s condition is improving, but it will be a long and difficult recovery, according to reports. No further details were released–a spokeswoman for the state Division of Children, Youth and Families, which has legal custody of the boy, cited confidentiality laws.
Dow’s grandmother, Helen Fram, defends his innocence saying, she is sure the couple would never harm the child. She also said the boy occasionally banged his own head on the bathtub or threw himself off the toilet. She lives next door to Dow and Linscott.
“I can hear anything, if anything is going on,” she said. “They would never, ever hurt a baby. Never.”
Fram also claims Dow and Linscott went to the hospital with the child but got scared when they found out police wanted to talk to them. So they ran.
