Toddler in Critical Condition After Severe Beating Allegedly by Father and Girlfriend in West Indianapolis

Police Discover Child in Disturbing Condition

Authorities in Indianapolis have arrested a 24-year-old man and his 22-year-old girlfriend after a 3-year-old girl was found unresponsive and severely injured on the city’s west side.

On August 7, officers responded to a call reporting a child who had fallen and was not breathing in the 7400 block of Waterfront Drive, near North Girls School and Crawfordsville roads.

When officers arrived, they discovered a small child who was stiff, unresponsive, and emaciated, with her body covered in bruises. Court documents state she was also soaking wet. Her father, identified as Joshua Cajigas, told police he had attempted to wake her by placing her in the shower, but she remained limp “like a rag doll.”

Conflicting Accounts of What Happened

Cajigas claimed his girlfriend, Mellie Jackson, told him the child had fallen backward while trying to pick up Jackson’s 1-year-old nephew and may have suffered a seizure. Both were taken into custody shortly after the child was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

Investigators say Cajigas admitted that he and Jackson would discipline his daughter with “whoopings” and physical “drills” such as wall squats, running, and standing against the wall. He said these punishments were given because she could be “disrespectful” and because she wet the bed multiple times a night.

On the afternoon of August 7, Jackson reportedly told Cajigas that the girl had been acting as though she was in shock. According to court records, Cajigas allegedly dismissed the behavior, saying his daughter could be “melodramatic” and “manipulate emotions.” Moments later, she began shaking and collapsed in front of him.

Doctors Report Life-Threatening Injuries

Medical professionals have told detectives the toddler has a “very high probability of death” due to her injuries. She was found to have a brain bleed and a fracture to her upper jawbone, just below her eye.

Doctors documented injuries across multiple parts of her body, including:

Front of both legs from waist to knees

Middle of the shins

Right forearm

Both biceps and elbows

Both sides of the forehead

Stomach and chest

Top of the right shoulder

Both eyes

Behind the right ear and inner upper part of the right ear

Back

According to court documents, the father maintained that any physical punishment involved striking the child only on her legs and buttocks with a belt. He suggested that head injuries could have been caused by a bookshelf falling on her. However, hospital staff informed detectives that her injuries were not consistent with a simple fall or backward tumble.

Charges Filed Against Both Suspects

Mellie Jackson faces a charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury. Joshua Cajigas faces the same charge, in addition to domestic battery causing serious bodily injury and battery causing serious bodily injury.

Authorities urge anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected to call the Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556.