In re S.

Terry was a child who lived with her mother and father (defendants) and her younger brother, Fred. The mother and father were immigrants who did not speak English. The mother did not leave the house without the father. When Terry was two years old, she was hospitalized with injuries that the mother and father claimed occurred when Fred pushed Terry off a table. One day when Terry was three years old, she was injured when a tricycle fell and hit her in the face, according to the mother and father. Three days later, the father left for work as usual at 6:00 a.m. According to the mother, Terry woke up very ill, but the mother did not seek help until the father called home at 2:00 p.m. The father called an ambulance, which took Terry to the hospital, where she was admitted in critical condition. King County (the county) (plaintiff) filed a petition in juvenile court, alleging that the mother and father abused Terry. At the hearing, undisputed evidence established the following: Terry was comatose and blind because of brain damage; the brain damage was caused by trauma that was deliberately inflicted by external force; the trauma could not have been caused by a fall; and Terry’s body was covered with human bite marks. The mother and father testified that they did not know how Terry could have sustained the brain injury, and the mother claimed that Fred had bitten Terry, causing the bite marks.