La Mesa Woman Held in Child Abuse

A 21-year-old La Mesa woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with abusing a 10 1/2-week-old girl she was caring for, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said.

The child was in critical condition at Children’s Hospital and, if she survives, may never walk or talk again, according to the department.

Michelle Goodrow, a self-employed cosmetics saleswoman, was booked into County Jail at Las Colinas on felony charges of child abuse, a sheriff’s spokesman said. Bail was set at $10,000.

Goodrow was described as the child’s “primary caretaker,” and it was not clear late Wednesday who are the child’s natural parents or legal guardians.

The sheriff’s investigation began Friday after the child was hospitalized and physicians discovered “suspicious” head wounds, a Sheriff’s Department statement said. The injuries indicated abuse, prompting Goodrow’s arrest, the statement said.