Mother of scalded Dewey toddler enters 'not guilty' plea

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - A Dewey woman charged with child neglect due to the scalding of her 16-month-old in January entered a plea of not guilty during her formal arraignment Wednesday morning.

Following her plea, Washington County District Court Judge Curtis DeLapp set her for a disposition docket on August 1 when a trial date will likely be set.

Police arrested 23-year-old Danielle Lynn Conner following an investigation that began on Jan. 30 when the Wichita Police Department contacted Dewey police about the girl saying her burns were suspicious nature, according to the affidavit.

Connor's alleged story to hospital staff that the burns were the result of a spilled pot of boiling water, they said, did not match the injuries. A detective said the injuries were submersion burns.

Following interviews with Conner by Dewey investigators, and their confronting her with the evidence, Connor reportedly told them she had placed the girl in a bathtub in water that “was not hot” with a 3-year-old child.

Conner said she left the children for 10 minutes before she heard crying at which time the 3-year-old found her and tried to tell her something she said she could not understand. She said she thought it was about argument over a toy.

She said when she came back to the bathroom and noticed the hot water was on and the younger girl was screaming, Conner said she immediately lifted the child from the water and “the skin fell off her legs.”

It was following this interview on Jan. 31 police arrested her and the 3-year-old was taken into Department of Human Services custody.

Connor is currently being held at the Washington County jail on $50,000.

During the hearing Wednesday, Connor's attorney Mark Kane requested the court lower her bond amount, a request the court denied.