Year-long Investigation Leads to Child Abuse Charge
A Whitehall Road man was arrested Monday after he allegedly fractured his child’s skull in 2023.
Joey Russ, 40, of 3233 Whitehall Road, Whiteville, was placed under a $5,000 secured bond on a single charge of felony intentional child abuse, causing serious injury, according to Detention center records.
The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office reported that a social worker contacted deputies on April 27, 2023, after a 13-year-old was reported struck in the head and injured. The child sustained a fractured skull, the report said.
“After almost a year of trying to talk to and interview Mr. Russ, detectives obtained a warrants,” Spokesperson Jenna Jalving said in an email.
The warrant said that Russ “intentionally committed an assault that resulted in serious physical injury, (and) cracked (the) skull on the right side”.
The child’s gender and current condition were not available.
