On January 3, Savawna Bowen and Daquan White from Oklahoma, US, were taken into custody in connection to the death of their four-month-old son, which occurred nearly a year before on January 11, 2024.
Bowen is facing a charge of felony child neglect, while White has been charged with child abuse and murder. Investigators claim that Bowen was aware of her child’s injuries but did not seek medical help promptly, pointing to her online search history as evidence.
According to an affidavit obtained by KOTV and cited by Law & Crime, Bowen allegedly left her two children—a two-year-old and the four-month-old—in White’s care while she visited her boyfriend.
Upon her return on January 3, the 23-year-old is said to have noticed a red mark on her younger child’s leg. When she questioned White, he reportedly admitted to picking the baby up and hearing a ‘popping sound’.
Despite this, Bowen is reported to have left her children with White once more and went out to meet friends, only to return eight hours later to find the infant crying.
The affidavit claims that White confessed to placing his fingers in the child’s mouth and pressing down in an attempt to stop the crying.
It was several days before Bowen took the baby to the emergency room. During the investigation, police allegedly uncovered a concerning search history on her device.
On January 3, Bowen is reported to have searched online for ‘popped leg’. The next day, her searches allegedly included ‘baby’s femur is sticking out’ and, on January 7, ‘baby not able to move mouth’ and ‘mouth swollen’.
On January 8, Bowen eventually took the four-month-old to the hospital. Sadly, this action came too late. The police report states that the child suffered from a broken femur, broken ribs, a broken jaw, and a severe brain injury and died on January 11.
Bowen has been released on a $10,000 bail and is currently in Tulsa County Jail.
If you’ve been affected by these issues or need to speak to someone in confidence regarding child welfare, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)) is available 24/7 and takes calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.