A Florida mother and her boyfriend were arrested after the 23-year-old’s toddler daughter was found dead in the woods on Friday.
CBS News affiliate WTVY reports Destinee Merrell told police her boyfriend Cory M. Hagwell, 29, kicked the 3-year-old in the head because she “climbed out of her car seat.”
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The toddler, Adelynn Merrell, was then reportedly locked in a closet of their home’s master, where she died. Her body was later found in the woods, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The couple initially told authorities that their child had gone missing, but police said the mother later disclosed what exactly happened.
While authorities are awaiting autopsy results, the child had suffered severe head trauma. Another child in Merrell’s care, a 5-year-old boy, showed signs of malnutrition and had “bones in all regions of his body exposed.”
Per the report from the sheriff, Merrell also told investigators Hagwell lost his job over a mont ago and began exhibiting escalating violence towards Adelynn. She described hearing thuds and the sounds of her daughter crying 15 to 16 times over that period.
She adds that Hagwell would also withhold food from the toddler and put her in the closet for extended periods of time.
Merrell will faces three counts of child neglect and one count of aggravated child battery, while her boyfriend Hagwell faces one count of aggravated child abuse.
Authorities state that more charges will be coming.
Photo credit: Twitter / @FOX28Columbus
