Report details arrest of mom accused in 5-year-old’s hot house death

A Las Vegas woman accused of killing her 5-year-old daughter after the girl’s body was found in a hot upstairs bedroom with no air conditioning told officers at the time of her arrest that they should take her to the “insane asylum,” police said.

Kemaya Taylor, 23, is charged with murder and child abuse. Her daughter, whose name and cause of death had not been released by the Clark County coroner’s office as of Wednesday, was found in the family’s sweltering home near East Pyle Avenue and South Maryland Parkway on June 28 at 7:02 p.m.

The child’s 2-year-old sister was found alive in the home.

A Las Vegas police arrest report for Taylor says police were first called to the home on June 16 for a welfare check after an acquaintance of Taylor’s reported that she had made a “vague suicidal threat.”

“Taylor stated she was ‘quitting her job’ and ‘watch out on the news,’” police said of the call.

Officers went to the home but they could not find Taylor or her children. They were called back to the home 12 days later by a neighbor who saw the front door of the home open. Police arrived and found Taylor outside the residence.

“(An officer) asked Taylor where her children were,” police said. “At first Taylor would not answer but she eventually told (the officer) they were upstairs in the residence. According (to the officer,) Taylor seemed to be suffering from some sort of a mental illness.”

Police found the children in a locked bedroom. The child who died appeared to have been dead for an extended period of time.

“It should be noted, the temperature in the residence was extremely warm,” police said. “Neither the heat or air conditioning were on and the temperature on the thermostat read 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Officers indicated upon breaching the locked bedroom door and entering the bedroom, the temperature in the bedroom felt exponentially warmer than the rest of the residence. A humidifier was also found to be on and in the ‘max’ position.”

Police said Taylor was apprehended, then put in the back of a police car.

“(An officer) reported Taylor making spontaneous utterances such as ‘it was a necessary sacrifice,’ ” police said in the report. “Witnesses in the neighborhood also overheard Taylor say ‘I killed it’ and claimed to be ‘the son of Jacob.’ ”

One neighbor reported seeing Taylor walking around the neighborhood carrying a blender and a bat. Another told police that Taylor was been observed causing damage to vehicles in the neighborhood before the officers’ arrival.

“According to (a neighbor,) an unknown neighbor told her they heard what they believed to be a firework followed by the woman yelling ‘hallelujah!’” police said.

Police said Taylor would not speak with them.

“Taylor insisted she be transported to an ‘insane asylum,’” police quoted her as saying.

Taylor remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center Wednesday. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for July 15 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.