Halifax County woman charged with child abuse of baby in her care

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Halifax County woman is facing charges of child abuse and abduction after a complex, months-long investigation, the Halifax County Sheriff's Office said Friday.

The investigation began June 18 when Roanoke Rapids Police told the sheriff's Criminal Investigations Division about a suspected child abuse case that was reported to them by the Halifax County Department of Social Services.

Police investigated the case until they realized that the alleged offenses had taken place outside of their jurisdiction.

The case started when a child younger than 1 who was taken to a hospital was found to have a broken femur as well as narcotics in their system.

The case took a twist when DSS contacted police because the child had been placed with a woman who lived inside the city limits. Eventually, investigators learned that the woman who DSS placed the child with never took custody of the baby and that a person who had the child kept the baby at a home outside of Roanoke Rapids city limits.

During his investigation, Detective C. Watkins learned that the alleged child abuse happened just outside of Roanoke Rapids city limits and the woman who had been keeping the baby was identified as Candice Demetris Davis, 33, of Roanoke Rapids.

Davis did have custody of the child for a time, the sheriff's office said, but at the time of the incident, she was not supposed to have the child.

On Thursday, Davis was taken into custody at her home and served with a warrant for two counts of felony child abuse and one count of felony abduction of children.

Davis was taken to the Halifax County Detention Center and held on a $40,000 bond. She was also served with an outstanding failure to appear warrant with an additional $500 cash bond.

Davis has a court date set for Aug. 29.

The child's biological mother was granted temporary custody.