Elynn Enneper was born a healthy 6lbs 11oz and had a bright future ahead of her.
Then at three months came a tragedy.
In a desperate attempt to get her to stop crying, her father Vincent confessed to dropping her onto a hardwood floor at home.
She sustained multiple fractures to her skull, which caused internal bleeding and for her brain to be displaced.
It was feared she would die when she started having seizures at hospital but surgery to drain fluid from around her brain helped save her life.
However, now aged five, Elynn’s life has been permanently damaged by the tragic event and she has a range of health issues including no vision in her right eye, cerebral palsy and poor mobility in general.
She has also lost her father, as he was sentenced to ten years in prison for child abuse recklessly causing great bodily harm.
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, among children ages 0 to 14, brain injuries from abuse, sports injuries, and other causes result in an estimated 2,685 deaths, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 435,000 emergency department visits each year.
While young children are notoriously accident prone, Elynn’s father, then aged 25, later admitted to dropping her on purpose as he ‘was frustrated and tired and I didn’t know what to do’.
Elynn Enneper was experiencing frequent seizures and had to undergo a surgery to drain fluid from around her brain after being dropped by her father
He added in a statement: ‘In a brief moment, it came into my head to just drop her, and that maybe that would get her to stop crying… and that is what I did, I just let her go.’
After dropping her, Vincent said Elynn had some milk and fell to sleep and he didn’t see any injuries.
It was her mother, Jordan, who immediately realized something was wrong when she returned home from work on January 8, 2020.
Her now ex-husband Vincent had been caring for Elynn and their other child Carl.
But when the mom-of-two walked into the house she was horrified to find Elynn on the floor with a ‘bulging’ face and ‘flat’ head.
Fearing for her daughter’s life, Jordan rushed her to hospital where a CT scan confirmed she had suffered multiple skull fractures and a brain injury.
Elynn was then life-flighted to a children’s hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for further emergency treatment. She was put into a medically induced coma.
At the time, the 28-year-old mom said Vincent claimed he had accidentally dropped their daughter while trying to give her a bottle.
However, Jordan said Vincent was arrested and she claims she was told by Child Protective Services and a detective told that he had deliberately dropped Elynn.
Today Elynn is disabled and has learning difficulties, and Jordan is sharing her story to raise awareness of the permanent damage Vincent caused his daughter and the life-changing affects his actions have had on her.
A little over a year later, Vincent was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2021 for child abuse-recklessly causing great bodily harm and neglecting a child causing great bodily harm.
The three-month-old had suffered multiple skull fractures and brain damage
Recalling the chain of events, Jordan said: ‘I got into the house and Elynn was on the floor playing and Carl was playing in his room and my now ex-husband was sitting on the couch waiting for me to come home.
‘I knew something was wrong. I’m looking at my children and that’s when he picks up Elynn and shows me her face. The side of her face was bulging out and the back of her head was flat.
‘She was very pale and not responsive and her eyes were ticking back to the left repeatedly, she was having seizures the whole time.
‘I looked at my ex-husband as I was really scared. Vincent told me his version of events that happened. He told me that he was holding her and said he dropped her by accident while he was making her a bottle as she was squirming.
‘At the time, I put myself in a protective mode as I needed to get my daughter out of there safely and to the hospital without him trying to stop me as my daughter was dying.’
According to the criminal complaint, Children’s Wisconsin in Wauwatosa called police on because Elynn had significant head trauma.
After being questioned by CPS and a detective at the hospital, Jordan was allowed to go and see her daughter and Vincent was arrested.
Jordan said: ‘They [the CPS and detective] understood immediately that I had nothing to do with it [and] the detective took me upstairs to go and see my daughter.
‘I got into her room and I looked at her and puked. It was the worst image I had ever seen in my life. At that moment I was scared my daughter was going to die.’
Elynn remained in the hospital for a month and was discharged February 7, 2020, but she has since had to undergo three major surgeries due to the extent of her injuries
Jordan said: ‘Elynn has beaten all the odds. Considering what she’s been through, she is a very happy child’
Jordan said the doctors weren’t sure Elynn was going to survive. She was experiencing frequent seizures and had to undergo a surgery to drain fluid from around her brain.
After having drains placed, Elynn began to open her eyes.
Jordan said: ‘When she opened her eyes, this was the first sign that I knew my daughter was going to be okay. She then continued to get stronger and stronger each day.’
Elynn remained in the hospital for a month and was discharged February 7, 2020, but she has since had to undergo additional major surgeries due to the extent of her injuries.
Despite ‘beating the odds,’ Jordan says her ex-husband’s actions have completely changed her daughter’s life and she’s glad he’s now in prison.
A court case report shows Vincent, who was 25 at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a five-year extended supervision, as well as probation of three years.
In the court sentencing, Vincent was quoted by his defense attorney who said he claims he dropped Elynn as he believed this would ‘maybe get her to stop crying.’
Vincent (right) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2021 for child abuse-recklessly causing great bodily harm and neglecting a child causing great bodily harm
Jordan said her daughter couldn’t walk for a long time and had to undergo leg surgery
Jordan said: ‘I had spoken to [Vincent] three times on the phone that day and had texted him.
‘At this point [before I got home], I wasn’t worried about him being at home on his own with the kids. He is their father and had never shown any physical signs to hurt anyone before.’
However, Jordan said Vincent was ‘a very angry person.’
Jordan said: ‘It was almost easy for me to accept what he did because I already knew that he did it deep down on purpose.
‘It’s been my life for so many years and I have to face the consequences every day with my daughter being disabled.
‘The brain injury was on the left side of her brain so this affected her entire right side of her body.
‘The only thing she doesn’t have issues with on her right side is her hearing. She can’t see her peripheral or lower peripheral vision on her right side and we are learning what she can and can’t see.’
Jordan said Elynn has cerebral palsy and is behind her peers learning-wise.
The mom also said she was getting Elynn evaluated for autism because of how her injury has affected her brain.
Jordan added: ‘She couldn’t walk for a long time and it was only in August last year that she had a second surgery on her leg to help her walk.
‘The excitement I had when she started being able to walk was one of the most emotional parts of my life.
‘I had been waiting years for this and I didn’t think she would ever walk. She is a bit unsteady on her feet but she can finally get up and play with her brother. She has a really bad limp though.
‘I feel I have got justice. I don’t want him [Vincent] to ever see them [Elynn and Carl] and he won’t be getting out for 20 years so I feel accomplished and like I have protected my children.
‘Elynn has beaten all the odds. Considering what she’s been through, she is a very happy child.’
