Babysitting boyfriend charged with felony assault

The 29-year-old Kinston man who suspected of burning his girlfriend’s 3-year-old foster son with hot water is facing a second charge.

Edward Lewis Warren, 2211 Beechnut Drive, was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony child abuse after police were notified that the child he had been babysitting was being treated for third-degree burns at Lenoir Memorial Hospital.

A more serious charge was filed today on the advice of the district attorney’s office, said Kinston Public Safety Department Comdr. Greg Thompson.

Warren, who is employed by MasterBrand Cabinets, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and intending to inflict harm. The latest charge is in addition to the child abuse charge. Warren’s bail was increased from $15,000 to $20,000. He is being held at Lenoir County Jail.

Police say Warren placed the 3-year-old in a tub of scalding hot water. The district attorney’s office is classifying the scalding water as a deadly weapon. Emergency room doctors at Lenoir Memorial Hospital found third-degree burns on the child’s back, legs and buttocks.

The boy was taken to the hospital by his foster mother when she returned home from work and discovered his condition. He was flown by helicopter to Chapel Hill Burn Center after being treated at LMH. Thompson said the child’s condition was listed today as improving. He said the mother has been cooperative with police.

Warren has no felony criminal record, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.