The Colorado Court of Appeals has overturned the 2023 conviction of a Montezuma County woman sentenced to 32 years for child abuse that left her 6-year-old adopted son with permanent injuries.
A three-judge panel – Judges Karl Schock, Elizabeth Harris and Suanna Johnson – issued a unanimous decision Dec. 24, 2025, reversing Garland Kay Malcolm’s conviction on one count of child abuse, knowingly or recklessly causing serious bodily injury, a Class 3 felony. The case was sent back to Montezuma County District Court for a new trial.
The child suffered a severe brain injury, skull fracture, torn neck ligaments, retinal hemorrhages and extensive bruising in January 2022. He was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs. The cause of his injuries remains unclear.
Doctors described the injuries as consistent with abusive head trauma seen in serious car crashes, typically caused by violent acceleration and deceleration.
According to the Colorado Court of Appeals, the child is permanently disabled. He “cannot talk or move independently and requires assistance with all aspects of his life.”
The Malcolms adopted the child and two siblings in 2020 and also had one biological child at home.
The Court of Appeals said the prosecution’s case was circumstantial, with no direct evidence showing how the injuries occurred. Malcolm called 911 after the child went “limp,” saying she told him to go outside in cold weather after he was caught sneaking food and that he might have slipped.
During the 2023 trial, prosecutors presented testimony and forensic interviews from siblings describing “harsh” and “sadistic” discipline, including spanking with hands, belts or brushes; cold showers; sitting in snow without pants for toilet accidents; strapping children to beds; forcing a child to eat food with spit; “slamming” children into snow; and hitting another child in the face, causing a bloody nose.
Most of this evidence was allowed under Colorado Rule of Evidence 404(b), the Court of Appeals said. Jurors were told it could be used only to show motive – punishments related to sneaking food – and to indicate the injuries were not accidental, not as “proof of bad character.”
The appeals court found most prior discipline did not show enough similarity or severity compared with the child’s injuries and Malcolm’s charged offense. Earlier incidents did not cause serious injury and most were unrelated to stealing food.
The judges concluded the evidence led jurors to believe Malcolm caused the injuries. Her conviction was reversed and the case sent back for a new trial, with no date announced.
Malcolm was found guilty July 14, 2023, and later received the maximum 32-year sentence. She and her husband, Roy Malcolm, lost parental rights to the injured boy, his two siblings and their biological son.
