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In tears, Garrett's son ran to deputies when they arrived, asking for help. He said she struck him multiple times in the head and chest.
Christine Garrett, a medical doctor with a practice in Palm Coast, was arrested Feb. 2 on a felony charge of child abuse, after she struck her adopted son with a plastic garbage can and striking him multiple times, according to an arrest report written by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The report says that Garrett told her son to “clean up some wrappers he had on the floor by his computer.” They got into an argument, and Garrett told deputies that "she intentionally struck” him over the head with the garbage can. She told the reporting deputy that her son “ran off, calling 911.”
However, Garrett's son and daughter reported that the confrontation continued.
When Deputies made contact with the son, whose name and age are redacted in the report, he was locked in the bathroom. “Upon seeing Law Enforcement,” the report states, “he exited the bathroom crying and ran, grabbing onto Deputy Bishop, saying he needed help.”
The son told the deputies that when his mother hit him with the garbage can, he fell forward and hit his eye on the desk.
The son said Garrett then punched him multiple times with a closed fist on his head and chest; the sister later told deputies Garrett hit him with an open hand. Either way, deputies reported that the son had “slight swelling on his face,” which worsened during the night, as well as “multiple bruises on his legs and chest.”
The son was treated at the scene and then taken to the hospital, at his request. When Garrett arrived at the hospital, she was arrested.
The children’s father, Patrick Garrett, who is also a physician at the same practice (Garrett Internal Medicine, at 50 Leanni Way, Suites A3-4) was out of the country at the time. He was out of the country and made arrangements for the son and daughter to stay with family in the area for the time being.
On Feb. 3, Judge Andrea Totten signed an order of no contact with the alleged victims, until the case is closed.