Mason grandma to spend at least 7 years in prison for scalding 2-year-old

A Mason grandmother was sentenced to spend seven to 10 1/2 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to one charge of endangering children and one charge of tampering with evidence.

According to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell, Lashawnda Walters, 51, scalded a 2-year-old child so badly she needed surgical skin grafting on March 30, 2023.

Fornshell's office said that morning, the child had an accident and soiled her diaper; Walters then "assaulted the girl" and placed her in a bath with water temperatures that reached up to 126 degrees Fahrenheit.

The toddler suffered second- and third-degree burns over 17% of her body, including her feet, calves, thighs, buttocks and vaginal area, the prosecutor's office said.

Prosecutors said Walters then waited over five hours before she took the child to Cincinnati Children's Hospital — Liberty Campus; after the girl was examined, she was sent to Shriner's Children's Ohio where she underwent several medical procedures, including surgical skin grafts to replace the burned skin.

Fornshell's office said when law enforcement went to Walters' home to execute a search warrant, they found her actively deleting videos from earlier in the day captured on the home's surveillance system; the surveillance cameras were located inside the home, and prosecutors said they captured "the events leading up to this incident."

"My heart goes out not only to this little girl, but to everyone involved in this case who had to view the photographs of the horrific injuries Walters caused to that precious child," said Fornshell in a press release.

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