Man, woman charged after school alerts police to 9-year-old’s bruising, officials say

KOKOMO, Ind. (Gray News) – A man and a woman in Indiana are both facing several felony charges after school staff notified authorities about a potential case of child abuse, officials said.

According to the Kokomo Police Department, Kokomo School Corporation Staff called police on March 24 concerning a 9-year-old girl who had bruising on her body.

Officers met with the child and determined she needed medical attention. The girl was taken to the hospital, where medical staff discovered she was malnourished and weighed just 48.5 pounds, police said.

Following an investigation, police arrested 32-year-old Tracy A. Seats and 38-year-old Amy D. Smith on Monday. They were booked into the Howard County Criminal Justice Center.

Seats and Smith were both charged with domestic battery with serious bodily injury to a person under 14 years of age, neglect resulting in bodily injury, and domestic battery with bodily injury to a person under 14 years of age.

Seats faces two additional charges, including one count of intimidation with a deadly weapon and one count of strangulation.

Police said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Cameron Cunningham at (765) 456-7136 or the Kokomo Police Department Hotline at (765) 456-7017.

Kokomo is located about 50 miles north of Indianapolis.