Woman: Satan led my husband to microwave baby

More today on Joshua Mauldin, the 19-year-old father who is accused of burning his 2-month-old daughter in a Galveston motel room microwave May 10: Though Mauldin told reporters he microwaved the baby because he was under stress, his wife, Eva Marie Mauldin, claims he did it because he was possessed by Satan. "I believe Satan works through our weaknesses," Mrs. Mauldin told KHOU. "Satan attacked [Joshua] through his weaknesses."

In her interview with Channel 11, Eva Marie Mauldin discussed her family's move from Warren, Ark., to Galveston. Joshua Mauldin, who was working at a Sonic in Warren, claims God told him to come to the island to begin a ministry, and Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan led her husband to harm the baby because he was worried. "Satan saw my husband as a threat. Satan attacked him because he saw (Joshua) as a threat," she said. Mrs. Mauldin said her husband told her that he "saw what he was doing, but couldn't stop himself" when he was putting the baby, Ana Marie, into the microwave: "He was crying the whole time, and when he finally came out of it he took her out of the microwave and tried to fix her," she said. "When I came back to the room, he was screaming and crying." And though Mauldin told police he microwaved the baby because he was stressed, Eva Marie Mauldin said that wasn't the case. "He would never do anything to hurt her. He loves her," she said. "When she cries, he is the one who comforts her. When she is sick, he is the one that takes her to the doctor." (Joshua Mauldin, remember, gave three different stories when emergency crews responded to a 911 call from the motel: He initially said Ana Marie had a bad sunburn, then said he had tripped and spilled boiling water on her, and finally decided that he was drinking the boiling water and spilled some.)

Now, there's a question as to who will end up with custody of Ana Marie: She will be placed in a foster home for now, and KHOU reports that Child Protective Services is trying to terminate the parents' rights to the child, and Galveston County DA Kurt Sistrunk said more charges may be coming in the case. "[Ana's injuries were] pretty damned horrible," Sistrunk said. "They clearly met the definition of serious bodily injury." Mauldin — whose criminal record includes a guilty plea on a domestic battery charge and an arrest last month on a charge of violation of a protective order, both against Eva Marie Mauldin — is being held in the Galveston County Jail on a $250,000 bond. If he is convicted of felony injury to a child, he could face 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.