Police hope girl can shed light on her stabbing

AUSTINTOWN -- Police said they hope Zabrina Battles, 7, can tell them how she was apparently wounded by a knife in a stuffed animal.
Zabrina was in serious condition today in the intensive-care unit of Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron. She was upgraded from critical condition.
She was stabbed in the chest in an apartment at 4874 Westchester Drive, Unit 5, about 7:47 p.m. Friday.
Detective Sgt. Raynor Holmes said he hoped the child can shed light on what the detective described as an unusual case.
The girl's stepfather, Eugene F. Coats, said he was playing a video game when the child began screaming. He said he found her at the top of the steps and saw she was bleeding.
He said he went into her bedroom and found a knife sticking out of a stuffed horse. The girl then collapsed.
Police said the Zabrina's mother, Zipporah Coats, blamed safety forces for injuring her child, alleging that safety forces had put the knife in the stuffed animal.
The girl's grandmother, Mildred R. Battles, told police that Mrs. Coats had not been acting right and put the knife in the toy. Police said Battles said that the devil had told her daughter to do it.