Fresno mom accused of burning baby with lighter in court

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno mother accused of burning her baby with a lighter and causing a second degree burn pleaded not guilty in court. Denia Adams, 23, is still behind bars facing charges of child abuse and corporal injury to a child.

Adams can read at the level of a fourth grader and is not legally allowed to sign binding documents, that's according to her father. But he and others say her disability is being overlooked.

During her first court appearance, the judge would not allow us to take video of Denia Adams face. For now, she will stay in custody and her bail remains at $40,000. Monday evening, her baby and three-year-old daughter were turned over to the newborn's father, Martin Thornton. He says the baby is recovering well, but he is worried about Adams.

Thornton explained, "She needs the help of people to know that she didn't do this and she is not capable of this and she is not capable of defending herself of this."

Police say Adams intentionally burned the baby last week with a lighter and during questioning confessed to the crime. Officers say she was mad at the time and arguing with Thornton. But Thornton says she was pressured into making a false confession and investigators are failing to look into a disability that she has had her whole life. According to family members, Adams was always in special education classes and barely graduated from high school.

"She can't read and write like we do," said Thornton. "And for them to just like drag her into a room and make her sign papers she's not even supposed to be signing, because she is on SSI for this."

Thornton claims he tossed a torch lighter onto a nightstand and it landed on the bed. He says Adams then put the baby down causing the burn. But police question why the child wasn't taken to receive medical treatment immediately. It was seen four days later, when another family member brought the baby to the hospital with a fever of 103 degrees. Investigators also claim Adams has given various accounts of what happened to the baby and how she got the burn.

Adam's does not have any prior criminal past. Her father was in court to support her, but other family members are working to try and get custody of the children and feel she is an unfit parent.