Accused Haslet woman testifies that her great-granddaughter burned herself

By NATHANIEL JONES

njones@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — A Haslet woman accused of repeatedly burning her 2-year-old great-granddaughter with a curling iron took the stand Thursday to tell jurors that the toddler injured herself and that she treated the burns with butter.

Saundra Patterson said she believed that the burns were painful but were nothing a little butter from the refrigerator couldn’t cure.

"Growing up, that’s what we did in the home," said Patterson, 65, who is charged with injury to a child. "It’s a home remedy."

After closing arguments Thursday afternoon, the jurors in state District Judge Mollie Westfall’s court began deliberating about 3:15 p.m. They deliberated for several hours before stopping and being sequestered for the night, prosecutor Bill Vassar said.

They are to resume deliberations this morning.

Patterson told the jury that late on the evening of July 1, 2008, she was awakened by screams from a bedroom.

Somehow, she said, the girl had gotten out of bed, entered the master bedroom and reached a curling iron that was on the bathroom sink.

Patterson said she applied butter to the burns and rocked the child to sleep.

Patterson’s attorney, Tom Zachary, asked her whether she took the girl to a hospital.

"No," Patterson said. "They were just red marks."

But the marks were more than just discolorations, Vassar said during an exchange with Patterson under cross-examination.

"Were her injuries not that serious when it happened?" Vassar asked Patterson as he pointed to blown-up photographs of the toddler’s wounds, taken a few days later.

"No, it was just a blister," she responded.

"Do you see the white part?" he asked, pointing at the photos.

"It didn’t look like that," Patterson said.

Earlier this week, medical personnel testified that the first- and second-degree burns were scattered over 10 percent of the girl’s body, from her head to her feet. Burn marks were even found in her vaginal area, according to testimony.

Patterson, who had custody of the girl and her then-5-year-old sister, went to visit relatives in Oklahoma City on July 4, 2008. Police were called when another relative saw the burns. A patrol officer who found the toddler testified that it was hard for him to pick her up without hurting her.

NATHANIEL JONES, 817-390-7742

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