Date: 09-26-2018

Dad says dog leash used in NKY child abuse case. Investigator calls it ‘worst I’ve seen’

A dog leash was used to whip a 3-year-old boy in Northern Kentucky, according to the boy’s father.

Jaxsin Fellows suffered facial abrasions, a swollen eye and chipped teeth. He needed five stitches.

His father, Nick Fellows of Erlanger, said his son’s mother, Karen Spurlock, told him a dog leash was used in the beating.

Spurlock and her boyfriend, Shane C. Sasher, face criminal abuse and second-degree assault charges in the incident. They initially blamed the boy’s injuries on a fall down stairs, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said.

Shane Sasher, left, and Karen Spurlock were charged last week with abusing a 3-year-old child, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
Shane Sasher, left, and Karen Spurlock were charged last week with abusing a 3-year-old child, according to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo: Boone County Sheriff’s Office)
The pair “thought he was deceased” the morning after the alleged assault, the sheriff’s office said.

Sgt. Philip Ridgell said he and other investigators were appalled by what they discovered.

“In my experience, it’s one of the worst (cases) I’ve seen,” Ridgell said.

Jaxsin’s paternal grandmother, Diane Fellows, established a GoFundMe account to defray medical and rehabilitation bills as well as future legal bills for custody of Jaxsin.

More than $1,200 has been raised toward a $10,000 goal. 

Nick Fellows said he also hopes to donate to another family suffering similarly and to ProKids.org of Cincinnati, which works to break the “vicious cycle of child abuse and neglect.”

Jaxsin had been staying with his mother and Sasher in the 10000 block of Irish Way in Union, Kentucky at the time he was beaten, according to Ridgell.

More: Two people assaulted 3-year-old, thought he was dead the next morning, police say

On Sept. 18, medical professionals at St. Elizabeth Edgewood notified law enforcement that Jaxsin had “significant facial injuries consistent with abuse,” including abrasions and contusions beneath his eyes and to his forehead, temples and cheeks.

Over the course of a three-day probe, the sheriff’s office said, investigators learned the boy was alone in the residence with Spurlock and Sasher the night before. 

After suffering separate assaults, the sheriff’s office said, the victim was given Motrin and put to bed. Spurlock and Sasher attempted to wake him up the next morning, and before he awoke they believed he may be dead.

Detectives found inconsistencies in their statements, according to authorities. Spurlock said Sasher told her not to report the initial injuries the boy suffered from the first assault.

Neither Spurlock nor Sasher has confessed to meting out the abuse, Ridgell said. They’re charged equally because they were the only ones in the home when the alleged abuse occurred.

Spurlock and Sasher’s bonds were set at $100,000, Ridgell said. They remain in custody at the Boone County Jail.

A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 1.

By Max Londberg
The Kentucky Enquirer