A man and woman from Bradenton are currently in jail after a 10-month-old child was left in a hot shower, causing second degree burns and then the child was left in an unattended car, while the mother and the caregiver shopped at Wal-Mart.
Cayla Zarvas, 24, and Dennis Zipprian, 24, were arrested on Monday, October 17, on child neglect with great bodily harm charges.
According to the affidavit, Zarvas went to work at Pizza Hut on October 14 at 6 p.m. and left her 10-month-old child in the care of Zipprian. Zipprian reportedly took a shower with the child and then left the child alone in a hot shower for five to seven minutes, which resulted in second degree burns to the child's body. He told deputies that he checked the water temperature and it was warm but not hot. After the child was alone for about 3 minutes, Zipprian heard crying but did not go check on the victim for another two to four minutes. When he finally checked on the child, the water was very hot and the victim was burned. He dried the infant off and found blisters on the inner thigh.
Zipprian then put the child in his car and drove him to Zarvas' work to show her the burns. She clocked out of work and the three of them drove back to their home. They checked the wounds and then drove to Wal-Mart to get something to treat the burns. The duo left the child inside of the running vehicle while in the parking lot and shopped for 20-minutes.
While in Wal-Mart, they purchased over the counter burn cream and gauze pads, as well as Cheerios, cereal, popcorn, seasoning and milk. They told deputies they bought the food because they were hungry.
It wasn't until more than 4 hours later that Zipprian and Zarvas sought medical attention for the child. By that time, the second degree burns had turned into blisters and the child had to spend 3 days in Tampa General Hospital's burn unit.
From the time of the incident to the time the duo went to the hospital, more than 5 hours had passed.
Both Zipprian and Zarvas were booked in the Manatee County Jail on October 17 and they remain in custody.
