Second person now charged in January domestic abuse case

A domestic abuse case filed in Adams Circuit Court in January against Joseph A. Mills, Jr, that resulted in serious injuries to a small child that required hospitalization at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, now has a second person charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.

Adams County Prosecuting Attorney Jeremy W. Brown said those charges were filed in Circuit Court last week against Patience R. Arkwright of Decatur and would be considered a level three felony offense.

Mills was originally charged with two counts of domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury to children. The children, ages five and two, were beaten and burned with a lit cigarette. One child suffered 14 spinal fractures in his back, bleeding in his brain caused by a subdural hematoma, and had a seizure.

It was stated in the probable cause affidavit for Mills’ arrest that he was in charge of the children while their mother was at work and he denied causing the injuries.

The new charge against Arkwright comes as a result of a probably cause affidavit submitted to the prosecutor by Decatur police detective Lt. Kevin Gerber.

During an interview, Arkwright said when she arrived home from work on January 12 she was told by Mills the child had fallen off the bed and she noticed a bump on the child’s head. The next night, Arkwright examined the child closer and observed bruising across his body as well as “unknown marks” on the younger child’s abdomen as well. She said Mills was attempting to conceal those bruises from her.

While telling Mills the bruises weren’t normal, she gave him the benefit of the doubt . She later admitted she should have followed her instincts and sought medical treatment that night for the older child.

On January 15, 16, and 17, Mills was again left in charge of the children while Arkwright went to work. The older child suffered a seizure on January 17 resulting in the child being taken to the hospital. This led to the discovery of all the other injuries and Mills’ eventual arrest. On January 21, during a forensic interview with the older child, the child said Arkwright was present when Mills struck him in the head with a belt while he was playing.

Arkwright admitted during an interview that she and Mills had conversations about not hitting kids with a belt and that Mills had told her he had spanked the five year-old once or twice. She said she knew that Mills smoked marijuana daily and had battered her twice. The first time was by grabbing her by the face and shoving her to the floor and the second time he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against a wall. During both occasions the couple was arguing.

Arkwright noted she entered into a relationship with Mills in December of 2022 and he moved in with her at her home. She also admitted she believed Mills was wanted in a nearby county by police for not reporting for home detention following his recent release from prison. The affidavit further noted that Mills often spoke about his gang affiliation with the “Vice Lords” and spoke about how he used to “gang bang” or steal vehicles.

Arkwright, who is 24, is still in custody at the Adams County Law Enforcement and Detention Center. Her initial hearing was this past Tuesday and the court set a bond of $650 cash and $35,000 surety