Prosecutors: Teen admits dipping toddler's feet in boiling water
EVERETT, Wash. - An Everett man was charged Friday with second degree child assault for allegedly dipping his girlfriend's 18-month-old son into a pot of boiling water, resulting in burns that caused the skin to peel off the toddler's feet.
Zachary Wilson, 18, is being held at the Snohomish County jail on $250,000 bail.
The toddler was injured Saturday while his mother was at work. Police say Wilson has changed his side of the story about what happened several times, first telling detectives the boy was burned when he knocked over a pot of boiling water on himself.
Wilson later said the child was standing in a nearly empty bathtub with warm water, and when he left to fetch bubble soap, he returned to find the child had turned on the hot water and was jumping up and down, court documents said.
But doctors at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle told detectives they found clear burn lines around the ankles as if the feet had been immersed, and no burn marks consistent with any splashing.
Prosecutors say Wilson eventually admitted he immersed the child's feet in the pot of boiling water, but didn't give a reason why.
The boy suffered second-degree burns to his feet, but was last reported in satisfactory condition.
Wilson has three prior convictions for assault since 2006, prosecutors said.
Zachary Wilson, 18, is being held at the Snohomish County jail on $250,000 bail.
The toddler was injured Saturday while his mother was at work. Police say Wilson has changed his side of the story about what happened several times, first telling detectives the boy was burned when he knocked over a pot of boiling water on himself.
Wilson later said the child was standing in a nearly empty bathtub with warm water, and when he left to fetch bubble soap, he returned to find the child had turned on the hot water and was jumping up and down, court documents said.
But doctors at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle told detectives they found clear burn lines around the ankles as if the feet had been immersed, and no burn marks consistent with any splashing.
Prosecutors say Wilson eventually admitted he immersed the child's feet in the pot of boiling water, but didn't give a reason why.
The boy suffered second-degree burns to his feet, but was last reported in satisfactory condition.
Wilson has three prior convictions for assault since 2006, prosecutors said.