FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Anthony Ciliberti, Jr., Prosecuting Attorney, announces that on March 14, 2022, Danielle McClanahan, age 38 of Oak Hill, pled guilty to one count of felony child neglect resulting in serious bodily injury regarding her seven-week-old infant. McClanahan will face one to ten years in prison when she is sentenced by Judge Paul M. Blake, Jr. on April 29, 2022. The father of the infant, Carson Blankenship, entered a guilty plea to two felonies in relation to the child’s injuries on March 10, 2022.
On September 3, 2019, police and child protective services responded to Raleigh General Hospital after the parents brought their baby to the emergency department with a swollen leg.
Doctors also documented that the baby was dehydrated and in obvious pain. The seven-week-old infant was eventually admitted to Women & Children’s Hospital where testing confirmed that six of the infant’s ribs and two bones in the right leg had healing fractures that were at least seven days old. Neither parent offered an adequate explanation for the infant’s injuries. However, the child’s father, Carson Blankenship, eventually admitted that he squeezed and shook the baby out of frustration. McClanahan admitted that she failed to seek prompt medical attention for the child, and she failed to properly care for the child’s needs resulting in dehydration and malnourishment.
This crime was investigated by the West Virginia State Police. The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer D. Crane and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney William C. Burdick.
