A Chandler couple is accused of abusing a 4-year-old child with autism.
Court records show that on May 4, police became aware of a child with bruises covering her left buttock, The girl also had red dots on her neck and chest, about the size of a half dollar.
Police say they were alerted by the child's daycare center to the injuries. The staff reported to police that the child has autism and is unable to speak.
When police talked with the victim's mother, 28-year-old Elena Rose Dourden, she reportedly told them that a dresser fell on the child the night before and must have caused injures to her butt and legs. She had no explanation for the marks on her neck.
When police talked with the victim's 5-year-old sister, she told police that 31-year-old Saint Killian Dourden, Elena's husband, spanked the child and took a knife paddle and poked the child in the chest. She also told police that she wasn't supposed to talk about it.
On May 5, police executed a search warrant and found a black knife with a sheath. Police say they also found several text messages between Elena and Saint coordinating what stories they would tell to police and the daycare center.
In another interview with police, Elena allegedly told them she didn't report the injuries because she needed to get to work and "didn't want to go through what she had gone through before with DCS."
Court paperwork shows that there were four police reports involving Saint and children with unexplained injuries.
Elena Rose Dourden has been charged with child abuse, hindering prosecution and failure to report child neglect.
Saint Dourden has been charged with two counts of child abuse.
