Infant Girl Clings to Life in Abuse Case

A mother and three of her acquaintances are jailed, awaiting arraignment on charges including torture, assault and child endangerment, while a 7-month-old girl clings to life in what Riverside authorities describe as the worst child abuse case they have ever seen.

The baby, Kara Sheppard, is hospitalized in serious, life-threatening condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center, authorities said Saturday.

She suffered severe injuries to her mouth and throat, brain injuries, two broken hips, a damaged vertebra and had rat and cockroach bites all over her tiny body. Her rectal cavity was so damaged that a colostomy bag was attached, said Sgt. Shelly Kennedy-Smith of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Open bed sores were infected to the bone. The infection within the thigh wound progressed to a flesh-eating bacteria, and the “vast majority of her left leg, including buttocks” had to be removed to prevent the spread of infection, according to the sheriff’s press release on the case.

“Based on all her injuries, it’s remarkable that the child is still living,” Kennedy-Smith said. “The medical staff even said they had never seen anything like this before.”

In January, the baby’s mother, 35-year-old Lisa Sheppard, of Quail Valley, left her 2-year-old daughter and Kara with acquaintances who were to care for the children.

Authorities are investigating why Sheppard left her children under the care of acquaintances for nearly six weeks.

Authorities say Kara was badly beaten and molested while staying at the two-story Wildomar house and a nearby mobile home. By the time she was taken to a hospital, she was barely moving.

Police arrested Michael Cody Gramaje, 36, his wife, Terri, 35, and their neighbor Eileen Merchant, 45, in connection with the abuse. All are from Wildomar, a sparsely populated, poor area of Riverside County, authorities said.

The three were being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of felony child abuse, including torture and assault. The mother has been arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and is being held at the same facility. Bail for the four was set at $250,000 each, and their arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday.

Investigators were alerted to the case on March 12, after Terri Gramaje told Lisa Sheppard that Kara needed medical attention and then dropped mother and daughter off at the Inland Valley Regional Medical Center.

The couple “acted as if nothing happened,” authorities said, and continued their routine, driving 45 minutes to Michael Gramaje’s work in Irvine every day. The Gramajes and Merchant were arrested on March 27 at work. The couple’s 12- and 14-year-old sons, along with Merchant’s 10-year old son, were put in Child Protective Services.

Authorities say Sheppard’s other daughter was not injured and is also in Child Protective Services.

On Friday, three days after the arrests, the mobile home where Merchant reportedly lived burned down. Merchant’s home is close to the two-story house where the alleged abuse took place. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.