Tullytown Couple Admits Violently Abusing 2-Month-Old Twins

A Tullytown couple that authorities say repeatedly and violently abused their two-month old twins, causing injuries that have impaired them to this day, pleaded guilty this week in Bucks County Court. Michael Shales, 31, and his wife Melissa Shales, 26, were charged with felony assault and child endangerment in connection with the abuse of the girls, now 16 months old.

According to Deputy District Attorney Chelsey D. Jackman, the girls were malnourished with broken legs and other injuries when police were summoned to the couple's apartment in March 2016. The injuries were so severe that more than a year later, neither is able to walk yet and one still uses a feeding tube, Jackman said.

Authorities discovered the girls after Melissa Shales called the police to the couple’s apartment in the 500 block of Main Street, saying one of the twins was having trouble breathing. According to authorities, the child was discovered with a throat injury that was caused earlier in the day when her father, shortly after injecting heroin, used pliers to retrieve remove a piece of gauze that he had put there after the child's mother threw her.

When police arrived, the baby was pale and gurgling with shallow breathing. The apartment was in a "state of squalor," according to officers. Officials report clothes, toys, tools, soiled diapers and dirty dishes covered the floor, along with drug paraphernalia and a round of rifle ammunition — all within reach of the babies and their 2-year-old brother.

Authorities say the injury was caused after Michael Shales returned from purchasing heroin in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. It was at that point that Melissa Shales became so enraged that she threw the baby into the aluminum rails of a nearby daybed and stormed out, authorities said.

Michael Shales then injected the heroin he had bought before attempting to wipe the inside of the injured baby’s mouth with a piece of gauze.

"When the gauze became lodged in her throat, he tried to retrieve it with his fingers before using a pair of pliers, puncturing the back of her throat and esophagus in the process," according to information from the Bucks County District Attorney's office.

The baby’s injuries required her to be intubated to breathe and for a feeding tube to be inserted for nourishment.

The child also was found to have a fractured femur, rib and tibia, neck injuries consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, and cuts and bruises to her vagina. The couple admitted having left her in soiled diapers for hours at a time, authorities said.

An investigation revealed the baby's leg was also injured, and the mother admitted to having thrown her "forcefully" into a swing after getting angry at her husband the day before.

The baby’s twin sister was found to have two fractures to her leg, and was hospitalized. Experts at St. Christopher’s Hospital attributed the breaks to non-accidental trauma, likely caused by pulling, shaking or twisting the child, authorities with the District Attorney's office said.

Both children were malnourished, having gained only two pounds each in their first two months of life, Jackman said.

The twin with the throat injuries was so severely hurt that she was hospitalized for two months, still requires a feeding tube and cannot yet walk, Jackman said. Her sister cannot walk either and requires physical therapy, the prosecutor said.

Sentencing has been deferred for 30 to 60 days. Aggravated assault is a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Endangering the welfare of children is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.