2 people charged after 14-month-old flown to hospital with infected spider bite

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Two people have been charged after a 14-month-old child was flown to the hospital with an infected spider bite.

On Nov. 19, deputies with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department were called to Ruby Memorial Hospital for a 14-month-old girl who had been flown via an air medical service due to infections, according to a criminal complaint.

Deputies learned the toddler “had to undergo surgery to one of her legs due to the infections” which was due to the toddler “being bitten by a spider on or about Nov. 16 and it wasn’t until the wounds became infected” and had “a foul odor approximately 3 days later” that Linsie Gray, 22; and Eric Melton, 20, both of Fairmont, sought medical treatment for the child, deputies said.

Medical personnel at the facility told deputies that “it is highly unlikely that the child would have survived one more day had she not received medical treatment,” and that the 14-month-old had “wounds/infections/sores to her feet, back buttocks and leg,” according to the complaint.

When deputies went to Gray and Melton’s home at a later date, they said it was “in deplorable conditions” with there being “garbage, dog feces, soiled dog potty training mats” throughout the house, deputies said.

As of Nov. 21, deputies learned that the 14-month-old had undergone two separate surgeries “to clean out the infection” and “would undergo more in the future,” and that “it was still unknown at this time if the child would have to have her leg amputated,” according to the complaint.

Gray and Melton have been charged with child neglect resulting in injury. They are being held in North Central Regional Jail on a $50,012 bond.