A couple accused of causing serious injuries to their infant daughter were scheduled Wednesday to appear before a Miller County judge.
Charles Uribe, 28, appeared late Tuesday afternoon before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones for arraignment. With the help of a public defender, Uribe entered a plea of not guilty to battery of a child under 4 years. Crystal Uribe's lawyer, Danny Cook of Texarkana, submitted paperwork for a continuance in the case.
Crystal Uribe, 23, is scheduled to appear May 1 before Jones for arraignment. Charles Uribe is scheduled to appear the same day before Jones for a pretrial hearing.
Earlier this month, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell filed a single document charging both Charles Uribe and Crystal Uribe, indicating the state intends to try both defendants before a single jury in one trial. Both face 10 to 40 years of life in prison if convicted.
The couple was arrested in mid-February after staff at Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana notified law enforcement about a baby in critical condition who was being taken to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, according to testimony from Miller County Sheriff's Office Investi-gator Patsy DeHart given at hearing last month to address bail for Crystal Uribe.
DeHart described a pattern of injuries which appeared to have been caused on varying dates based on their stage of healing. She said the infant suffered two breaks in her pelvis, a broken leg and a head injury. DeHart said doctors told her that petichiae in the baby's eyes was evidence of the child straining to cry or not cry and that injuries to the baby's esophogus led medical experts to conclude something had been shoved into the infant's throat.
Cook has filed a petition on Crystal Uribe's behalf in Miller County seeking divorce from Charles Uribe. Court records show that Charles Uribe signed a document March 1 in the divorce case waiving his right to receive notice of court hearings. The divorce has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson.
Bail for Charles Uribe and Crystal Uribe has been set at $250,000 each.