Caseworker: I don't think dog attacked Webster infant

More on the strange case of a baby found mutilated in Webster last month: The AP reports that a Harris County CPS caseworker testified yesterday that he doesn't believe the injuries were caused by a dog, as the infant's mother claimed. "No, I don't believe the dog attacked the child," the CPS's Armando Morin said. "The dog would have had dried blood under its chin, bloody paws. It didn’t have any, animal control said."

Five-week-old Holden Gothia's mother woke up from a nap March 13 and found the baby on a bed, covered in blood, with his genitals severed; the family's dachshund was standing over Holden, which apparently led his mother to conclude the dog had attacked. The mother — who has a history of drug abuse — has not given a statement to police and remains in an inpatient treatment program outside of Houston. She has been denied contact with Holden and was ordered to undergo psychiatric and psychological tests.

During a custody hearing for Holden on Monday, Morin said he didn't see any bloody pawprints on the bed or the floor when he visited the apartment shortly after the attack allegedly took place. According to CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin, the mother said the dog bit through a comforter and Holden's diaper during the attack, but Olguin said investigators found no bite marks on the comforter and Morin said he couldn't find the boy's bloody diaper in a Dumpster where the mother said she disposed of it. During the hearing, Itze Soliz-Matthews, the mother's lawyer, suggested that someone else might have come into the apartment and injured Holden; no word on how far that theory might get.

Holden's father, Camden Gothia, was granted unsupervised contact with his son at the hearing, though Holden will remain in temporary CPS custody. Camden Gothia said he has been seeing Holden at the hospital, and the boy is doing well: "Holden is doing spectacular," Camden Gothia told the AP. "Part of his recovery is hinged on us being able to see him, touch him more than one to two hours a day. It kind of lifts a cloud. It's just a relief." He went on to say he'll seek full custody of Holden. Another hearing is set for May 11.