Severely beaten child was under county watch

Hamilton County’s child

welfare agency allowed a

woman who twice before was

accused of abuse and neglect –

although the charges were

never proved – to care for a 2-

year-old whose own mother neglected

him, Hamilton County

Juvenile Court records show.

And the agency didn’t know

that the woman, Mary Enzenbacher,

was living with a convicted

robber and abuser,

those records show.

That man, Anthony Walton,

34, was arrested Monday on a

charge of felonious assault, accused

of severely beating the

toddler in their Over-the-

Rhine home, according to Cincinnati

police records.

Enzenbacher – who has not

been charged with a crime –

admitted to police she witnessed

the boy “being beaten

over the past few days by Mr.

Walton” and “refused to seek

medical attention for him,”

court records show.

According to the court records,

the boy suffered a cut to

his liver, several broken ribs

and a “significant” head

wound. He was so badly hurt,

doctors at Cincinnati Children’s

Hospital Medical Center

couldn’t immediately operate.

The boy remains hospital-

[excerpt of article]