10-Month-Old Suffered Spiral Fracture at Lexington County Daycare, Per Arrest Warrants

A 10-month-old child suffered a spiral fracture during an alleged incident of child abuse at a Lexington County daycare.

Arrest warrants — provided to the Chronicle by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, which arrested three women in connection with the incident Friday — include the age of the child and the nature of the injury along with other details.

The alleged incident, which warrants state took place March 11, happened at Windsor Academy, a state-licensed child care facility at 952 Old Cherokee Rd. All three employees arrested were terminated Friday, Elaine Harkey, the owner of Windsor Academy and Windsor West in West Columbia, told the Chronicle.

According to the warrants, Shayna Nicole McKnight, 36, charged with inflicting great bodily harm upon a child, “forcefully folded the child's legs under the child and did intentionally with malice & force flip the child into the crib while holding the child by the left leg. Footage shows that prior to these acts the child was crawling and playing without visible pain & afterwards the child was crying & unable to bear weight on the leg which was also observed to be swelling.”

The left leg break was determined to be a spiral fracture when the mother later took the child for medical attention.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, spiral fractures “happen when one of your bones is broken with a twisting motion. They create a fracture line that wraps around your bone and looks like a corkscrew. You might see spiral fractures referred to as complete fractures.”

The warrants also provide additional detail into the accusations made against Amy Marie Grice, 38, and Jeannie H. Locklear, 49, who was the manager of Windsor House at the time of the incident. Both are charged with obstructing justice.

The warrants state that both made false claims that the CCTV system at Windsor House wasn’t functioning at the time of the incident. Statements by other employees indicated that Grice and Locklear viewed footage of the incident, according to the warrants.

The warrants also state that “video footage was recovered showing [Locklear] viewing the footage [of the child abuse incident] on a cell phone. They also refer to “video footage showing [Locklear] arriving at the location while it was closed on 3/13/22 just before the CCTV became inoperational and footage prior to 3/13/22 was deleted before becoming operational again.”

Reached on Friday, Harkey, the owner, said both Windsor Academy and Windsor West will remain open.

“I’m just shocked,” she said. “Nothing ever has happened that's been this bad. We've always had good reviews, parents love us. The director has been well loved by parents and everyone in general. And I'm devastated. I'm just sick about it. I would not ever want any harm to come to any child. Especially not while they're in my care."