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July 14, 2026
NEW BOSTON, Texas — A Bowie County grand jury has indicted a 22-year-old Texarkana man accused of causing skull fractures in 3-month-old twins.
Michael Jerome Cridell Jr. faces two counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury. Each count carries a possible sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison if convicted. He remains in the Bowie County jail on $1 million bail and is represented by the Bowie County Public Defender's Office.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Cridell was the only person alone with the twins when they were injured on June 4. The case began when the twins' mother brought her 3-month-old daughter to a local emergency room with a critical head injury; doctors determined the baby had a skull fracture, and she was airlifted to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
Investigators say a doctor at Children's Hospital reported the baby girl also had a broken femur and five fractured ribs that appeared older and were already healing, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states the child had been seen by medical personnel in late March, at about a month old, for difficulty breathing and a bruised abdomen.
After the girl's injuries were discovered, Child Protective Services arranged for her twin brother and an older sibling to be examined. That exam determined the 3-month-old boy had also suffered a skull fracture, leading to the second charge.
The case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Cridell is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.