JONESBORO, Ark. — A Jonesboro woman has been arrested following an investigation into suspected child abuse involving her 6-year-old granddaughter, according to a police affidavit.
Yoldany Lasing Morris, 53, of Jonesboro, was arrested on a charge of second-degree domestic battering, a Class C felony.
According to the affidavit, an officer responded on Dec. 12, 2025, to Fox Meadow Elementary School after a report of suspected child abuse involving a 6-year-old female student. The child was located in the school nurse’s office.
The officer reported observing bruising on the child’s back that was consistent with a downward-angled strike from a right-handed person taller than the child, consistent with being struck with a belt. The officer also observed multiple large scars on the child’s back, legs, and arms, as well as a linear mark above the child’s eye.
The Arkansas Department of Child Services was contacted, and a caseworker was notified.
Police learned that the child’s teacher became concerned after noticing the child began to cry after seeing her behavior chart. The teacher asked why the child was so upset, to which the child replied that she would be hit with a belt when her Nana saw it.
She told the teacher that her grandmother hits her all over her body with a “belt buckle.”
The affidavit states that the day before law enforcement was notified, DCFS and a school social worker examined the child. They observed a welted mark across the child’s back that appeared consistent with being struck by a belt and noted additional scars on the child’s body consistent with the injuries later observed by police.
Investigators later returned to the school and spoke with the alleged victim again. The child stated Morris had hit her all over her body with a belt and pointed to multiple scars she attributed to being struck. The child distinguished the mark above her eye as an injury from a fight with her brother and not related to the alleged abuse.
Morris was taken into custody following the investigation. She faces a Class C felony charge of second-degree domestic battery.
Circuit Judge Thyer set a temporary bond at $5,000 cash or surety. During a subsequent hearing, District Judge Tommy Fowler noted the bond amount was low but stated Morris had been released before the bail hearing and did appear in court as required.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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