Couple cooked their four-month-old baby son in a microwave after cracking his skull

A couple in America have been arrested on suspicion of microwaving their 4-month-old son, burning his face with bleach, and dropping him on his head.

Derick and Mikala Boyce-Slezak, both 22, were taken in for questioning after doctors in Missouri's Cardinal-Glennon Hospital raised concerns about the infant's injuries. Tests revealed that the infant had a fractured skull, a potentially fatal brain bleed, and a large second-degree burn on the side of his face.

Mikala told investigators the child sustained the skull fracture when Derick dropped him on his head while trying to copy a TV commercial, while the burns were caused by scrubbing his face with a towel soaked in a "bleach-like substance". She also claimed that she "had reason to believe" Derick had placed his son in a microwave and turned it on for a "short period of time".

Derik and Mikala are also the parents of a girl, who was handed over to social services shortly after she was born in January 2016. They have now been jailed on a $500,000 (£370,000) bond after they were charged with felony child abuse.