24-year-old Toby Hippen of Hutchinson, accused of aggravated battery for allegedly being responsible for the injuries to a 2-year-old child was bound over for trial Thursday after a preliminary hearing.

Magistrate Judge Randy McEwen found there was probable cause to believe that Hippen was most likely responsible for the severe injuries to the child.

On the stand Thursday afternoon, Dr. Katherine Melhorn, a Wichita Pediatrician who examined the child, and has extensive experience with child abuse cases talked about the initial injuries to the child when she was brought to a Wichita Hospital. She told the court that when she first saw the child, the child was on a breathing machine and semi-conscious. She says the child suffered severe bruising on her forehead, her right cheek just below her right eye, abrasions to her lip and bruising of her right arm.

She testified that these types injuries could occur from a fall, running into something, or if she was hit in the face. She did indicate that the bruising and those other injuries probably occurred prior to the incident on July 18, when she was brought to Via-Cristi St. Francis Regional Medical Center.

That’s when the more severe injuries were discovered including a skull fracture on the back side of her brain and also suffered bleeding on the brain. She says these injuries were life threatening. When Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder if she was aware that the child had been placed in a drug induced coma, the doctor says she wasn’t aware of that. Dr. Melhorn says eventually the child improved and was taken off the ventilator and was able to eat, but agreed the child would need extensive rehabilitation.

She told the court, the injuries could have occurred from a blow to the head, or severe shaking. She says the child had dot or clot hemorrhages in one eye which would be consistent with shaking of the child.

The 2-year-old child was taken to St. Francis after police were dispatched to 910 E Sherman for a medical condition where a child had been badly injured. The child was first taken to Promise Regional Medical Center in Hutchinson, then later transported to Via Christi St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita. The child has since been taken to another hospital out of state that specializes in parallelized individuals. The child after the alleged abuse is parallelized on the left side.

Toby Hippen, you may recall is the brother of Briget Hippen, a woman who’s charged with second degree murder involving the death of her 2-month old child. She is accused of being reckless when she placed a blow dryer next to the crib the child was laying in. Hippen says she did it because of concern the child was to cold. She then laid down and went to sleep. When she woke up, the child wasn’t breathing. She and her boyfriend, Oscar Perez took the child to Promise Regional Medical Center where the child was pronounced dead. The child died of Hyperthermia, according to the autopsy report.

Reno County District Judge Trish Rose declared a mistrial in that case after the jury in the case told the judge they were deadlocked. That was back on August 26. The state plans to take that case to trial again at a later date.

Toby Hippen will be arraigned in his case on October 3, and he remains jailed on a 150-thousand dollar bond.