MANCHESTER, NH – A 3-year-old child was bruised literally from head to toe, with her back completely covered in bruises when she was treated Sunday by an emergency room physician in Nashua.
The father’s girlfriend, Jessica Laferriere, 31, of 344 Cedar St., third floor, Manchester, is accused of causing the injuries.
Laferriere, when interviewed by detectives at the police station, admitted to slapping “S.M.” at times and hitting her multiple times after “losing her cool,” according to a police affidavit filed in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District.
She said she “probably caused at least half of the bruises” on “S.M.’s” body, but felt she didn’t cause every single injury.
Laferriere also told investigators she didn’t take the child to the hospital because she didn’t want hospital staff to see the injuries and investigate her for abusing the child.
Laferriere was arrested on charges of second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. She was released on personal recognizance bail with a condition that she is not to have contact with “S.M.,” be near anyone under the age of 18 and undergo a mental health evaluation.
The child’s grandmother picked up “S.M.” and her two siblings about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. They lived with their biological father, Phellippe Montiero, 33, and Laferriere in the Cedar Street apartment.
A total of six children, ranging in age from 3 to 13, lived with the couple.
The grandmother told police when she picked up the children “S.M.” had noticeable bruising on her face. Laferriere, she said, told her “S.M.” had fallen face-first into some Legos on Thursday and that she had been evaluated at the hospital.
The grandmother said in Nashua she saw that bruises were developing on the child’s face so she took photos of them and sent them to Montiero and Laferriere, asking about them. The 3-year-old continued to complain about her “boo-boos” so she thought it best to take her to Southern NH Medical Center.
About 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, police received a call from the hospital telling them they were treating a 3-year-old with “suspicious injuries,” according to the affidavit of Detective Adrianne Davenport.
Detectives spoke to the grandmother and child at the hospital. The doctor allowed a detective to briefly look at the child’s injuries in “a playful interaction,” Davenport wrote.
She noted that “S.M.’s” entire forehead was very swollen, so evenly swollen and discolored (faint bluish color) that it was almost difficult to see at first glance. The bridge of her nose was also quite swollen, and the inside corners of both of her eyes were swollen and freshly bruised. She also had some darker red/purple bruising on the left side of her forehead and just right of the center of her forehead. In addition to those injuries, the child had bruises and abrasions on every part of her body, all in various stages of healing.
Detectives interviewed Montiero at the police station. He said Laferriere is aggressive with the kids and that he has spoken with her about it before. He maintained he “could not prove” she was abusing them, but he acknowledged he saw bruises on all of the kids, and the excessive bruising on “S.M.,” but that Laferriere always explained what caused them.