The mother of a 2-year-old Union boy, who died in 2018, is now facing a criminal felony charge and will be arraigned on the charge in a Franklin County court hearing next month.
Ambuhr M. Lause, 25, was charged with first-degree child endangermen
According to electronic court records, authorities allege that on Feb. 3, 2018, Ambuhr M. Lause, 25, knowingly left her son in the care of a person who would harm him. That person, identified in court records as Austin Stonebarger, 26, is facing a first-degree murder charge.
In a sworn statement, Union Police Detective John Biser said authorities were dispatched to the couple’s home on Feb. 3, 2018. When they arrived, they found a two-year-old boy who “had obvious injuries to his entire body.”
The child, who is not being identified in court records due to his age and the nature of the crimes, had bruises to the front, back and top of his head. Authorities say the child also had bruises covering various other parts of his body, as well as a “moderately sized full thickness burn” that was later classified as a third-degree burn on the boy’s leg. He also had a second-degree burn on the back of his neck.
It was later determined that the child had suffered “massive internal injuries” and “head trauma,” according to court records.
The child was taken to Mercy Hospital Washington and pronounced dead by hospital staff upon his arrival.
As authorities began their investigation into the boy’s death, they interviewed Lause and Stonebarger, who had been in direct supervision of the child prior to his death.
When Stonebarger was questioned, police said he gave inconsistent stories, according to previous reporting by The Missourian. When pressed about the inconsistencies, Stonebarger admitted to police that he pushed the child causing him to strike his head.
He also told police he “disciplined” the child the day before, which he said caused the bruising.
Police said Stonebarger “indicated that he had been using methamphetamine for the last couple of days.”
Lause reportedly told police in her interview that she had witnessed Stonebarger use “excessive physical punishment” on her son. She told police she stopped each assault, but did allow him to continue to look after her son and two other children while she was not home or in the room.
Lause said she had suspected that Stonebarger was the cause of her son’s injuries.
Stonebarger’s case is continuing to move through the county judiciary with a hearing scheduled for Feb. 23. He is also facing criminal charges of domestic assault, drug paraphernalia possession, driving while intoxicated and stealing.