Greensboro woman charged with child abuse after giving daughter third-degree burns on feet, police say

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A Greensboro woman has been accused of intentionally burning her 2-month-old daughter's feet and toes.

On Tuesday, a neighbor told WGHP that she saw Loretta Ernestine Marie Ford, 22, punch and burned her baby.

"She put the baby back in the seat and stuff and started punching the baby in the chest," Kim Nelson said. "Then started lighting her feet, the bottom of her feet, up."

That's when Nelson and her roommate, Sidney Sims, rushed in to help.

Ford handed the child to Sims, who began to comfort the child. She then noticed severe burns and blisters on girl's feet and welts on her body.

The pair immediately took the child to the hospital.

"That child was in extreme pain," Sims said. "She was diagnosed with second-degree burns, third on her toes and the bottom of her feet."

Ford was charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.

An investigation is still ongoing.