Jacksonville child 'whupped' with TV cord for running away, mother arrested

A Jacksonville mother has been arrested after her daughter told police she was 'whupped' with a television cord for running away.

Someone from the victim’s school called the Florida Department of Children and Families after noticing several visible marks on her legs and arms.

During an interview, the child told DCF and an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that her mother does not hit her. The DCF child protective investigator didn’t believe the victim because the marks on her body appeared to come from some kind of cord.

Valesha Byrd, the child's mother, told DCF her daughter fell down the stairs riding her bike two weeks ago.
The victim was taken to meet with a doctor and case coordinator who reiterated the difference between truth and lies, at which point child said her mother 'whupped' her because she ran away. The child said her mother made up the bike accident as an excuse so authorities wouldn't take her kids away.

The child admitted the marks on her arms and legs were from a television extension cord.

The medical exam, approximately 28 marks were found on the child’s body from the abuse, with many of them resembling a loop pattern. The doctor stated the child’s injuries could not have been sustained by falling down the stairs.

Some of the marks will show on the child’s body for the rest of her life, according to the doctor.

Byrd, 32, was arrested, though she continued denying the claims and continued saying the child fell down the stairs.

Cox Media Group