Fairrin Moss, Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For Beating, Burning & Locking Her 3 Year Old Child in Linen Closet

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Mom confined son, 3, in closet, authorities say

Boy allegedly kept in 1-by-2-foot space for hours at a time

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 02:51 AM
By Andy Hirsch
WBNS-10TV

An East Side woman regularly left her 3-year-old son locked in an unlit linen closet for hours at a time when she wasn't home, authorities say.

The space was 24 inches wide and, because of shelving, just 12 inches high, said Sgt. John Hurst of the Columbus Police Division's special-victims bureau.

"No lights; (he) couldn't sit up, couldn't stand up - had to lay down," Hurst said yesterday. "It was kind of like an area (where) you'd put your towels next to the bathroom."

The mother, Fairrin J. Moss, 23, of the 1900 block of Maryland Avenue, is charged with one count of felonious assault and two counts of endangering children, according to records filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Moss was arrested Dec. 9 and indicted eight days later, records show. She has pleaded not guilty.

Hurst said the alleged abuse continued for at least several months - until a woman described by investigators as the boy's aunt found him locked in a second-floor closet in Moss' apartment. The relationship between Moss and the other woman wasn't immediately clear yesterday.

When the aunt removed the boy's clothing to give him a bath, she noticed a number of bruises on his body, investigators said. She took the child to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where staff members immediately notified police.

"The child was beat over the head, in the head, in the stomach, on the side (and) legs, (and) grabbed by the neck," Hurst told WBNS-TV (Channel 10).

Hurst also provided the TV station with a photograph showing severe burns on the boy's right foot, apparently the result of contact with scalding water, he said.

Hurst, who has handled scores of child-abuse cases, said that in an odd way, Moss' son is "very lucky."

"Had not somebody intervened ," the investigator said, his voice trailing off.

The aunt, he said, "probably saved this kid's life."

Neither the aunt nor Moss, who, according to court records, is free on bond, could be reached for comment yesterday.

Franklin County Children Services has placed the boy in foster care, where he seems to be recovering from his injuries, Hurst said.

"The long-term effects of this it's hard to tell," the investigator said. "Physically, he'll probably recover with some minor issues. Emotionally - that's something that could last a lifetime."

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Woman Accused Of Burning, Locking Son In Linen Closet

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:00 PM
WBNS-10TV

There is a video and 2 pictures on the above website.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A mother is facing charges after a relative found her 3-year-old son locked in a tiny linen closet in an east side apartment.

Police said Fairrin Moss would lock the boy in a linen closet that measured 12 inches by 24 inches, sometimes leaving him in there for hours while she left the house, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported on Tuesday.

Moss, 23, was arrested last month and charged with assault and child endangerment.

"No lights, couldn't sit up, couldn't stand up, (he) had to lay down," said Sgt. John Hurst. "Kind of like an area you'd put your towels next to the bathroom."

Police said the closet was not the worst of the abuse.

When the woman found her nephew she noticed bruising.

She brought the boy to Nationwide Children's Hospital and when doctors saw the boy they immediately called police, Hirsch reported.

"The child was beat over the head, in the head, in the stomach, on the side, legs, grabbed by the neck," Hurst said.

A photograph of the boy's right foot obtained by 10TV News showed it was badly burned. Investigators said it appeared the boy's foot was submerged in boiling water.

"The long-term effects of this, it's hard to tell," Hurst said. "Physically he'll probably recover with some minor issues. Emotionally, that's something that could last a lifetime."

The boy is expected to fully recover. He has been placed in a foster home.

Moss pleaded not guilty to all charges. A trial date has not been set.

Watch 10TV News HD and refresh 10TV.com for additional information.

I sure hope he has been placed in a good foster home.

lindamarie wrote:I sure hope he has been placed in a good foster home.

LM, . This child needs to be with very special people, ones that meet requirements to deal with a child that's got to have severe psychological injuries plus the physical ones. I hope this little one wasn't just 'put into the system'!
OMG, how I wish that so & so Mother was not out on bail, she doesn't deserve to be! She should never be allowed to have that child (or any child) back! This is so sad.

I was watching Cebebrity Rehab and Janice Dickinson was on and she said when she was small her father would duct tape her hands/feet and mouth and molest her. She also cries of him putting her in the trunk of his car for extended periods of time. Made me think of precious Caylee.

(this is the mom)


Police said it appeared the boy's right foot was submerged in boiling water.

There's a video but it won't embed.

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omg! This is so horrible! I wish they would lock up the so called mom in a prison cell the same size as that closet!!! Oh I forgot they can't do that it would be inhuman. Sometimes I wish we could give these extremely cruel people a taste of their own medicine!!!!

Speechless!!!!!!!!! I am just happy he is alive!!!

OMG! This is just horrific! Let me have that Mom for an hour and she will wish she wasn't free on Bail

August 30, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A judge on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 11 years in prison after she was accused of beating, burning and locking her 3-year-old child in a linen closet.

Fairrin Moss, 23, gave the court a tearful apology, 10TV's Maureen Kocot reported.

"I just want to say I'm sorry," Moss said. "I'm so sorry. I never intended for it to be like this. I don't know what happened. I don't know the person I became."

Prosecutors said that Moss' child was developmentally disabled.

"He's three years old. He's disabled and you are beating him and burning him," said Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Julie Lynch.

Investigators suspected that the boy's foot was submerged in boiling water after obtaining a photo of the burnt child.

The victim, and Moss' three other children, were placed in the custody of Franklin County Children Services, Kocot reported.

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I'm glad that she got eleven years!

Amen!!