Since last Thursday, officers from the Worthington Police Department and deputies from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department have been involved in an investigation into a case involving injury to infant. The baby was treated for injuries at Greene County General then transferred to Riley Hospital, and three adults from Worthington were booked into jail on various charges including battery to the child, neglect of a dependent, false informing and incest.

Worthington Town Marshal Jim O’Malley, the lead investigator, and Deputy Marshal Heather Wood of the Worthington Police Department, and Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies Davis Aerne and Devan Goad have all been involved in this investigation.

Charles P. Philpot, 24, Ashley M. Philpot, 20, also known as Ashley M. Burris, and Julia A. Egan, 18, all of Worthington, were booked into the Greene County Jail last Thursday, April 1.

At 5:48 a.m. last Thursday, April 1, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department got a 911 call about a suicidal subject. Deputies Aerne and Goad were dispatched to a mobile home residence on Hanna Street on the east side in Worthington.

When the deputies arrived, they were met by Charles Philpot who lives at the residence with his wife, Ashley Philpot, and their baby daughter, and Ashley’s sister, Julia Egan.

Charles Philpot told the deputies that Egan was having suicidal thoughts, had put a knife on her wrist and had also physically raped him and his wife and that she had hurt their daughter. He said she would admit to everything. In a later interview, he admitted this story was not true.

When Deputy Aerne first talked to Julia Egan, she said everything Charles Philpot said was true and she agreed for Deputy Aerne to transport her to IU Health Hospital in Bloomington for an evaluation. They headed to the hospital but on the way there, Egan recanted her earlier statement and said she went along with the initial story because Charles Philpot was standing nearby and he had threatened to kill her. Further, she said it was Charles Philpot who had harmed the baby and that she (Egan) had been raped by him. The conversation was audio recorded and once at the hospital, a SANE nurse was contacted to perform a sexual assault examination.

In an interview later that afternoon with Officer O’Malley at the Worthington Police Department, Egan allegedly said she was asleep and heard Charles yelling at Ashley. He was trying to feed the baby but the baby would not swallow and she said she saw him pick the baby up and throw her into a playpen. She allegedly said he got madder and he said he was about to snap the baby’s neck. She said Charles and Ashley told her to tell the cops she had raped them and to take the blame for harming the baby.

As for the stories Charles and Ashley told, after Deputy Aerne and Egan left for the hospital, Deputy Goad talked to both Philpots, who allegedly said Egan had thrown their daughter into a playpen then threw the baby onto a couch. Ashley said the baby was screaming at the top of her lungs and that Egan threw the baby face first into the couch. She said she was scared that if she took the baby to a doctor, the baby would be taken away from her but she said the baby had a bruise on her head and a scratch on her stomach.

Charles Philpot allegedly told Deputy Goad that he checked on the baby after this incident and the baby was fine. But Deputy Goad summoned emergency medical personnel to evaluate the baby. Based on the baby’s age of two months and that the baby had been premature, EMTs suggested further evaluation was needed and the Philpots agreed to take the baby to Greene County General Hospital.

Officer O’Malley had been called at 6 a.m. that morning and so he responded to the hospital where the baby was being examined when he got there. He interviewed both Philpots.

Charles Philpot allegedly gave Officer O’Malley a detailed account of the incidents and alleged rape and said his wife would tell the same story and verify everything. But O’Malley reported that during continued questioning and reasoning, Charles Philpot recanted his story and allegedly admitted he injured the baby, and that he was frustrated and angry. He reportedly said, “I done it. I scratched the baby, I tossed the baby on the couch. I thought her back would land, her face went in. Her head hit the swing.” He also allegedly said his wife was sitting on the couch when he threw the baby.

These interviews were audio recorded and a DCS caseworker was also present.

During her interview, Ashley Philpot also told a detailed story about the baby being injured and how Egan had raped Charles. But when Officer O’Malley told her Charles had admitted to injuring the baby, Ashley allegedly admitted she lied and that they had put a plan together to blame Egan so Charles wouldn’t get in trouble. She then said no rape had occurred but they had all three participated in consensual sexual intercourse and that she had video recorded the encounter.

All of the audio recordings of interviews and conversations are evidence in this case. So is the video recording of the sexual encounter. Although Egan claimed in her last interview that she was forced to participate by threats from Charles, Officer O’Malley reported, “The sexual video depicts Julia laughing and participating sexually with both Ashley and Charles. There are no indications of force or threats toward Julia or unwillingness by Julia to participate.” No rape charges are expected in this case.

Regarding the baby’s injuries, Officer O’Malley reported the initial exam at Greene County General revealed the baby had a minor closed head injury, a concussion, a fracture of a right-side rib and a contusion to the forehead.

The baby was transferred to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis for further medical treatment and no other updates on the baby’s condition have been released.

The preliminary charges against Charles Philpot include:

Battery with bodily injury to a person less than 14 years of age, a Level 5 felony,
Neglect of a dependent – knowingly or intentionally placed the dependent in a situation that endangered the dependent’s life or health, a Level 5 felony, and
False informing – gave a false report of a crime that substantially hindered a law enforcement process, a Class A misdemeanor.

The preliminary charges against Ashley Philpot include:

Neglect of a dependent - knowingly or intentionally placed the dependent in a situation that endangered the dependent’s life or health, a Level 5 felony, and
Incest – engaged in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with another person knowing the other person was biologically related, a Level 5 felony, and
False informing – gave a false report of a crime that substantially hindered a law enforcement process, a Class A misdemeanor.

The preliminary charge against Julia Egan is:

Incest – engaged in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct with another person knowing the other person was biologically related, a Level 5 felony.

Bond for Charles Philpot was set at $21,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of late Sunday afternoon, he had not yet posted bond and was still in custody.

Bond for Ashley Philpot was also set at $21,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of late Sunday afternoon, she had not yet posted bond and was still in custody.

Bond for Julia Egan was set at $10,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. She has since posted $1,000 and been released from custody.