Suspect in child abuse case charged after 3-month-old injured

Published 6:30 pm Thursday, May 11, 2023

SALISBURY — Two weeks after his 3-month-old son was admitted to the hospital with reportedly broken ribs, a Rowan County man was arrested for child abuse and assault.

Christian Elliott Markowitz, 30, was processed at the Rowan County Magistrate’s Office shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday, placed under a $100,000 bond and transferred to the detention facility across the street.

He is officially charged with felony assault causing serious bodily injury and negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury.

Details on how the child was injured remain unclear, but enough indication of Markowitz’s role sufficed for the arrest, which took place at a residence in the 300 block of Merritt Avenue. The infant was taken to the hospital by Markowitz on April 30.

On Thursday, Markowitz’s wife, Liz Markowitz, and his brother, James Markowitz, described a loving father who would not lay a hand on his son.

His brother said he would not leave his children with Markowitz if he did not trust him as a caregiver. The wife remarked that she would never have had children with him if she believed him to be a threat. She has three children from a previous marriage and indicated that Markowitz was also a loving father to them.

Markowitz will be in court on Friday.

In a separate case, a 3-year-old remained in critical condition Thursday in Winston-Salem after being airlifted from Rowan County on Tuesday with serious injuries. Details have not been released in that case.