Angier baby reportedly bitten by animal. Why mom, friend face charges

Deborah Ann Collins, 39, of 483 W. Church St., and Colin Joseph Campbell, 20, of 3660 Neills Creek Road, are both charged with intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. They were being held Monday in the Harnett County jail under $1 million bonds.

Angier Police Chief Bobby Hallman said his department was called Friday about an 8-month-old girl being bitten by an animal, but the caller didn't specify what type of animal.

When emergency crews arrived at Collins' mobile home, they rushed the girl to Harnett Central Hospital, where physicians discovered she had multiple skull fractures and bleeding in the brain, Hallman said.

"It shocked me, and it hurt me so bad to hear some stuff like this," said Tabitha Evans, who used to live with Collins and was at the baby's birth last summer.

Evans, who helped care for the baby and Collins' older son, called Collins a loving mother, noting that she never witnessed any abusive behavior. She said she moved out about six months ago.

"She didn't want me to, but I had to do it to better myself," she said.

The girl was being treated at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. It was unclear Monday who was taking care of her brother.