An Eastern Kentucky couple is in jail accused of breaking their own baby's leg so badly, police say he could have died. Police say the parents waited three days before taking their 8 month old son to the hospital for treatment.

Police say parents Michael Norman and Kathy Massie first tried to blame their next door neighbors for hurting their child, but investigators say Norman finally admitted he broke the 8 month olds leg when they took him to jail.

Neighbors at the Slone's Branch Apartments in Kimper say they saw the couple and their eight month old son everyday. They say they knew something was wrong last month.

Crystal Keene says she knew his leg was hurt.

"He was really bad," Keene said.

She claims the parents did not want to take the child to the hospital. Police say when they finally took him, doctors said his leg was severely broken and could have cut his artery.

"Definitely was life threatening. There's no doubt this baby had to suffer for those three days," said Mike Goble with Kentucky State Police. "There's no excuse waiting three days to take an infant to the hospital, especially when it has that serious of an injury."

The parents, 28 year old Michael Norman and 32 year old Kathy Massie are charged with abuse. Investigators believe Norman broke the child's leg, but say he blamed others.

"They gave multiple incidences the baby was dropped by different people," Goble said.

Investigators say none of his stories added up, and say he confessed when he was arrested.

Neighbors say the parents should be punished if they are responsible for the boy's injury.