Joseph A. White and Heather Coomer-White.JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- Several wooden splinters found inside a toddler's digestive tract have led to charges against the boy's parents.
The Johnson City Press reports 34-year-old Joseph A. White and 32-year-old Heather Coomer-White are each charged with one count of child abuse and neglect.
According to court documents, the Johnson City couple took their 2-year-old son to Niswonger Children's Hospital last week due to gastric distress.
Doctors suspected a bowel obstruction, and an exploratory surgery led to the removal of several wooden splinters in the boy's stomach, intestine and colon.
According to court records, the couple told doctors the boy had been eating his crib. They were charged after police visited the home and found splinters littering the floor in the child's room.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the parents had attorneys.