Three West Virginians have been charged in a child abuse case that left three children with hematomas on their heads and faces, pressure wounds on their buttocks, and in a 3-year-old boy’s case, a beating so severe that it caused “the white of his eyes to pool blood.”
The children, ages 3, 4, and 6, were brought to United Hospital Center in Bridgeport on November 7 with severe injuries, according to WDTV. Authorities said, ““It was apparent that the children had been severely beaten/abused based upon the multitude of bruises on their faces, arms, backs, legs, and chests.”
Two of the children identified 50-year-old Michael Stemple as their abuser, and Chrystal Ridenour, the children’s mother, said that Stemple had been babysitting them while she was at work.
“She had found out [Stemple] was hitting the children approximately two weeks prior to this complaint, and had spoken with Michael and Linda (his wife) about hitting the children,” court documents said.
When Ridenour saw that the children had been harmed again on November 5, she said, Stemple threatened to kill her and the children if she notified police.
Stemple was charged with three counts of child abuse resulting in injury, A week later, Ridenour, 27, and Stemple’s wife, 45-year-old Linda Stemple, were also arrested. A new complaint in the arrest of the two women says that Linda Stemple was “an active participant and witness the abuse/torture” of the children and that Ridenour “was also present and witnessed the abuse of [the] three children” and “never attempted to stop or report the abuse.”
Linda Stemple and Ridenour face the same charges as Michael Stemple, with Ridenour slapped with additional charges of child neglect causing injury. The two women have been given higher bonds than Michael Stemple, who is being held on a $150,012 bond. Linda Stemple’s bond is $200,012, and Ridenour’s is $225,000.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Michael Stemple, Linda Stemple, and Chrystal Ridenour/West Virginia Department of Corrections]
