Killeen: Couple charged after officer finds malnourished infant

Fort Hood Sgt. Devin James Gill, 23, and his wife Jamie Nicole Gill, 24 were in the Bell County Jail Friday charged with injury to a child after an officer dispatched to make a welfare check at a home in the 1300 block of North WS Young Drive found an “emaciated and malnourished” infant, according to an arrest affidavit.

Their bonds are set at $100,000.

The arrests stem from an investigation that started after the officer discovered the 4-month-old boy on Feb. 12 while responding to a report of child neglect.

The officer looked through the house and “did not locate any formula, breast pumps, bags for breast milk or baby food in plain view,” the affidavit said.

Child Protective Services had the boy admitted to a local hospital where it was determined the infant weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, the same weight at which he was born on Oct. 3, 2017, the affidavit said.

The boy “was diagnosed with failure to thrive based on malnourishment,” the affidavit said.

“Photos taken as part of that exam showed virtually no fat on the child’s body and that his skin was (hanging) loosely off his body,” the affidavit said.

Jamie Gill told officers she thought the infant’s weight was normal and said she breast fed the boy, the affidavit says.

Devin Gill also said he wasn’t concerned about his son’s weight because he thought the infant “was just skinny,” the affidavit says.

He admitted the boy was not included on his Tricare medical insurance because the couple hadn’t obtained his birth certificate,” the affidavit said.

Aside from two visits to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, the boy “had not had any subsequent doctor visits,” the affidavit said.

CPS placed the boy in foster care and within about a month he had gained four pounds, the affidavit says.