Investigators allege the father injured the 5-week-old boy and the mother waited more than four hours after noticing serious symptoms.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Two 19-year-old parents face separate felony charges after their 5-week-old son was found cold and unresponsive in their Springfield home and later underwent emergency neurosurgical treatment for severe injuries that investigators said were consistent with inflicted trauma, according to court records and local reports.

Kenai Logun Kelley is charged with abuse or neglect of a child after investigators said he acknowledged shaking the infant, deliberately dropping him onto a hardwood floor and striking him during an episode in which he said he was angry. The baby’s mother, Starr Mariah Vesey, is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Authorities allege she saw signs that the boy was seriously ill or injured on July 28 but waited more than four hours before calling 911. The allegations are contained in probable-cause records and have not been proven at trial.

The case began with an emergency response to the family’s home in the 1400 block of East 24th Street. Court records say officers and emergency personnel were called after the infant was reported lethargic and making grunting sounds. Responders found him cold and unresponsive and observed injuries that raised concerns about abusive head trauma. He was first taken to Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Because of the seriousness of his condition, he was later flown to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where specialists provided further treatment. Records reviewed by local news outlets described the child’s condition as life-threatening.

Doctors in St. Louis documented severe bleeding and swelling in the baby’s brain, retinal hemorrhages, multiple fractured ribs and other injuries that medical personnel considered inconsistent with an accidental event, according to the records. The boy required emergency neurosurgical intervention. A child-protection consultation cited in the investigation concluded that the medical findings were consistent with inflicted trauma, including shaking and striking, and also noted a delay in obtaining medical care. The infant’s long-term prognosis was not disclosed in the court records or the principal local reports reviewed for this story.

Investigators said Kelley initially denied injuring his son before telling police that he had been too rough with the baby. According to the probable-cause account, Kelley demonstrated some of his actions for investigators using a doll. Police said he described forcefully shaking the child by the legs and deliberately dropping him face-first from a height of a couple of feet onto a hardwood floor. Investigators also alleged that Kelley described holding the baby’s hands and using them to strike the child’s head. The affidavit says the infant became limp after the episode.

Kelley told investigators he was angry at the time, according to the probable-cause record. Police also said he acknowledged noticing unusual bruising on the baby the next morning but did not call for emergency help and instead went back to sleep. Those statements are significant to the prosecution’s allegations because Missouri’s child-abuse statute addresses both intentionally inflicted injury and abusive head trauma. The statute defines abusive head trauma broadly to include serious injury to the head or brain caused by such acts as shaking, hitting or slamming. Prosecutors still must prove every required element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Vesey gave investigators a different account of the hours before the 911 call. She said she put the baby in his crib around midnight and did not check on him again until about 10 a.m., according to court records. When she did, she said he had not awakened for feedings as usual. She described him as unusually sleepy, unwilling to eat, grunting and having difficulty moving his right arm. Investigators said she also noticed a bruise on his forehead. Those observations form part of the basis for the allegation that she recognized the infant was behaving in a way she had not seen before.

The baby’s condition allegedly became more alarming as the day continued. Vesey told investigators that sometime around 12:30 to 1 p.m. she tried to feed him and observed that he became limp and stared into space. She said she contacted the child’s pediatrician and waited for a response instead of immediately calling 911. Police said a review of her phone did not support the timing she initially provided and showed the call to the pediatrician occurred several hours later. She ultimately called 911 at about 2:55 p.m., according to court records.

Investigators said that interval exceeded four hours from the time Vesey first noticed the child’s unusual symptoms. Court records say she told authorities she hoped the baby would improve after resting and that fear and transportation concerns contributed to the delay. The prosecution’s charge against Vesey is distinct from the allegation that Kelley inflicted the injuries. Missouri law provides that a person can commit first-degree child endangerment by knowingly acting in a way that creates a substantial risk to the life, body or health of a child younger than 17. When serious physical injury results, the statute classifies the offense more severely.

Police also cited digital evidence that they said provided context for the investigation. According to the probable-cause material, a search found on Vesey’s phone asked why a very young baby might have bruises. She told investigators that she routinely checked her son for injuries. Kelley, according to the affidavit, said he believed she did so because she was aware of his anger problems. The records do not establish when any earlier bruising occurred, who caused it or whether investigators connected every observed injury to one particular episode, and those questions remain matters for the criminal proceedings.

The charges against the two parents therefore rely on different alleged conduct arising from the same medical emergency. Prosecutors accuse Kelley of acts that directly injured the infant, while the case against Vesey centers on the alleged failure to obtain timely medical treatment despite visible and behavioral warning signs. Missouri’s abuse-or-neglect law also distinguishes between ordinary physical injury and serious physical injury, which it defines to include an injury creating a substantial risk of death or causing serious or prolonged impairment. The medical findings described in the court records are central to how authorities characterized the seriousness of this case.

The parents’ ages and relationship to the child do not alter the prosecution’s burden. The probable-cause documents summarize what police, medical personnel and the defendants reportedly said during the early investigation, but they are not findings of guilt. No trial testimony testing those accounts was included in the reports reviewed, and no defense evidence addressing the allegations was described. The publicly available reporting also did not identify a final medical prognosis for the infant, leaving the extent of any lasting effects unresolved.

Currently, Kelley is reportedly being held in the Greene County Jail without bond, while Vesey was also jailed pending court proceedings. Initial reports listed separate August court dates for the parents. No plea, trial verdict or final disposition was identified in the publicly accessible reports reviewed as of Sept. 28. Both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.