FORT MEYERS, Fla. (TCN) — A woman has been charged with cruelty to a child for allegedly recording herself physically and verbally assaulting her young daughter and threatening to kill her husband with her bare hands.
On Dec. 25, 2025, officers performed a wellness check at the home of Krysten Ann Happel, 36, and her daughter, whose name and age have not been released by authorities. According to a probable cause affidavit, Happel’s acquaintance Grace Grover, 35, contacted authorities after receiving troubling text messages and a video from Happel.
The video allegedly depicts Happel battering the child’s head and potentially causing injuries to the bones and brain due to the child’s young age, according to the probable cause affidavit. Happel also allegedly threw a blanket over the child, called her ugly, and said she was “demonized.”
Along with the video, Happel allegedly sent text messages that said, “Im gonna go and set [husband] on fire and watch him f—ing burn to death fa—- ass, motherf—er piece of sh– and how the f— do I even f—boys have his back anyone wanna help me out cause I aint gonna be satisfied til i f—ing kill him with my bare hands and spend the rest of my life in prison ha ha ha ha ha.”
Grover called police after receiving the video and text messages. When officers arrived at the Salvation Army where Happel lived, Happel was arrested and charged with charge for cruelty toward child — abuse child without great bodily harm and an out-of-state warrant charge, WKRC reports.
She was booked into the Lee County Jail without incident. At the time of Happel’s arrest, the probable cause affidavit states that her daughter was soaked in urine, wearing a diaper that appeared as though it had been on for hours.
A charging document obtained by Law & Crime states that Happel took credit for the text messages and admitted to the actions in the video.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Grover and her husband had let Happel stay with them in the past to help her maintain custody of her child, since Happel did not have the means to provide for the child. Her husband had been incarcerated for a domestic incident, and Happel later received housing through the Salvation Army, according to WKRC.
Law & Crime reports Happel is being held on a $7,500 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26.
