Mar 9, 2026 By Garrett Neese 2 min read

A Connellsville couple was arrested after doctors found their 7-month-old son had suffered severe injuries, allegedly resulting from child abuse.

Tyler Hunter, 18, was charged after physicians determined the child’s injuries — including bruises, lacerations and bone fractures — could not be explained medically, police said. The child’s mother, Bella Kern, 18, had known about the abuse and failed to report it to authorities or outside agencies, court paperwork alleged.

When the couple brought their son to Highlands Hospital on March 4, the boy’s left eye was swollen shut, and he had a large dark bruise on the back of his left ear, the complaint said. Police also observed excessive bruising on the boy’s back and ribs “consistent with handprints,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The child received “life-sustaining treatment,” police said, before being flown to UPMC Hospital in Pittsburgh for additional treatment.

The parents both live in the home with the child, and had been the only people around him for the three days before coming to the hospital, the complaint said.

Hunter and Kern reportedly told police the child would hit himself in the face with the rattle and often falls while in his playpen, which consists of a mattress and siding.

A child advocacy consultant at UPMC Pittsburgh determined the child had sustained multiple bone fractures in various stages of healing, including the ribs and skull, the complaint said. Other injuries included lacerations to the liver and a tear to the upper frenulum.

Physicians at UPMC’s Child Advocacy Center determined there “is not medical cause” that would explain the combined injuries, and the parents’ account did not include any accidental causes that provided a plausible explanation for the injuries, the complaint said.

“This child could not have caused these injuries to himself,” the affidavit of probable cause stated. “All injuries are consistent with inflicted injury and was deemed to be child abuse.”

Hunter was charged with aggravated assault of a child under 6, endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.

Kern was charged with endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.

Hunter and Kern were both lodged in the Fayette County jail after being unable to post bond — $175,000 for Hunter and $50,000 for Kern.

Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for March 18.