Affidavit describes Wichita baby’s injuries in apartment with pot grow operation
A pediatric doctor who examined an unresponsive 9-month-old Wichita girl suspected of being abused told police the child likely wouldn’t survive and that her injuries were “consistent with the baby being shaken,” according to an arrest affidavit released Friday by Sedgwick County District Court.
The baby, Maela Flores, died on Jan. 15 — five days after she stopped breathing while her mother’s new boyfriend, 25-year-old Brietan Ron Rader, was caring for her at his west Wichita apartment amid a marijuana grow operation. Prosecutors allege Rader, who is charged with first-degree felony murder and child abuse, shook and either beat or tortured Maela some time on Jan. 10.
Rader is also facing drug charges in the case. He is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 27.
The pediatric doctor, who has about 30 years of experience in the field, told a Wichita police detective investigating Maela’s injuries that the girl “likely would have become symptomatic almost immediately but certainly within an hour of the injuries having been inflicted,” the affidavit says.
The injuries the baby suffered include “significant swelling of the brain,” bleeding in her eyes and brain, rib fractures, bruising and wounds to her left cheek, chin and collarbone area, the affidavit says. The baby also had no cough or gag reflexes and her pupils were unresponsive when the pediatric doctor examined her.
The baby “would not have been acting normally” after she was hurt, the doctor told police. She died at 3:09 p.m. on Jan. 15.
Rader told police in an interview that he had been sleeping while Maela was in a playpen after the baby’s mother went to work about 11 p.m. on Jan. 10. He told police when he woke up he saw Maela with blood in her mouth, thought she was having a seizure and put her foot in a fish tank full of water “hoping it would bring about a reaction.”
Instead of calling 911, Rader called Maela’s mother, who flagged down a sheriff’s deputy for help as she was driving to work. The mother alerted the deputy about 17 minutes after leaving Maela with Rader, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, Rader told police he didn’t want to let officers into his apartment, near 13th and West Street, “due to him using marijuana in the past.” He met first responders outside at 13th Street when they arrived to help the baby.
A sergeant executing a search warrant inside Rader’s apartment found a sled filled with dirt that had lights above it, fans, lights, monitors for measuring temperature and humidity, potted marijuana plants and several containers of a “green botanical substance” that field tested positive for THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high.
A diaper box in the living room contained “an assortment of marijuana pipes and bongs,” the affidavit says.
Rader told police in the interview that he “uses spankings” to discipline someone whose name was redacted from the affidavit — including at least one instance where he used a belt and left a welt. But he denied hurting Maela and said he didn’t know how she received the fatal injuries.
He said that only he and the baby’s mother had cared for her during the prior week, and he wasn’t aware of any health issues the baby might have had. Maela’s mother also told police the baby had no health issues other than some recent congestion.
There is no description of exactly what happened to Maela in the affidavit, but part of the document is redacted.
The Department for Children and Families has previously said it’s aware of Maela’s death but declined to release additional information until a finding is made that the girl died from abuse or neglect. The baby’s autopsy report was not yet available Friday.
