by SEAN KIMMONS
The Kyle daycare owner who is charged in the death of the 10-week-old son of a Simon Middle School teacher turned herself into authorities last week after the Hays County District Attorney’s Office increased her bond to $500,000, officials said Friday.
Christina Suzanne Lyons, 32, had previously been released from Hays County Jail on a $50,000 bond Nov. 20, the day after she was arrested for injury to a child, a first-degree felony.
Benjamin Spencer suffered severe head and chest injuries Nov. 18 while under Lyons care at the Little Lyons Cub Daycare at 561 Keystone Loop. He died a week later on Thanksgiving from the injuries he sustained.
His father Duane Spencer is the head director of bands at Simon Middle School, Hays CISD spokesperson Julie Jerome said Monday.
His wife, Robin, is employed at a Lockhart nursing/rehabilitation center. The couple also has a three-year-old daughter.
As of Monday, Lyons remains in jail and the injury to a child charge against her has not changed. Lyons has not yet filed for legal counsel or hired a lawyer, according to court records.
Lyons could be charged with more serious crimes, including murder, by the Kyle Police Department and the Hays County District Attorney, Kyle officials have previously said.
If a person kills a child under six years old with intent, a capital murder charge could be applied. If there is no intent, it could be reduced to a manslaughter charge, investigators say.
According to an affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant, first responders told police the victim was unresponsive and was being assisted with his breathing. The infant sustained multiple bilateral posterior rib fractures and later had surgery due to “severe head trauma.” Police said that given the severity and location of the injuries, they were likely non-accidental.
Lyons told police that she left the child unattended on a sofa, approximately 24 inches high, while she went to the restroom. When she returned, she saw the child on the hardwood floor, laying face up, she said.
Police said they believe the force used to cause the injuries could not have been committed by a child. The victim, along with six other children, was under the sole care of Lyons at the time, the affidavit states.
A memorial service for Spencer was held Friday at Remembrance Gardens in Austin, according to news reports.
