Police investigating dad for burn injuries sustained by 8-month-old daughter (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Not clear yet whether dad JOSEPH C. RILEY is dastardly...or just clueless. He left his 8-month-old daughter alone by the fireplace while he fetched a chainsaw? How, uh, macho. And now she has 2nd-degree burns. Where is Mom anyway? Is Dad babysitting? Is he a single dad? Doing a visitation thing? What?

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20101101/NEWS02/11010368/8-month-old-suffers-facial-burns-in-fireplace?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CIndyStar.com

8-month-old suffers facial burns in fireplace
10:40 AM, Nov 1, 2010

Police are investigating the claims of a father who said his 8-month-old daughter burned her face when she fell into a fireplace in a Westside home.

The girl suffered second-degree burns on the right side of her face at about 3 p.m. Sunday and was taken to Riley Hospital for Children, according to an Indianapolis Metro Police report.

Joseph C. Riley said he had put his daughter on a blanket about five feet from the fire in their home in the 1300 block of Lindley Avenue, then left the room for a few minutes.

Riley said he had placed the girl close to the fire to keep her warm because the heat in the house was off. He said he was doing construction around the house and went to get a chainsaw when he heard a high pitched scream from the living room, according to the report.

He said when he into the room his daughter was in the fireplace, which didn't have a screen in front of it.

IMPD child abuse detectives and investigators from Indiana Child Protective Services were called to the scene.