Parents of dead 3-year-old girl charged with abuse
The parents of a 3-year-old girl whose body was found in a duffel bag last month face child abuse charges after their 8-month-old twins were found malnourished and suffering from injuries.
A criminal complaint filed Sept. 7 accuses Aisha Yvonne Thomas, 29, of “flinging (the children) across a room, and/or ‘popping’ and/or hitting” them sometime between May 1 and Aug. 31. The complaint also accuses Don Edward Hunt Jr., 30, of failing to stop her from hurting the children or screaming at them when they cried.
Thomas already faces a murder charge in the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Dejah Hunt, who the mother reported missing the night of Aug. 23 near the intersection of Lake Mead and Hollywood boulevards. Police discovered discrepancies in her initial story and later found Dejah’s body inside a duffel bag at her apartment.
Thomas told police she hit Dejah because she had wet her pants, according to her arrest report.
Police found the twins while investigating Dejah’s homicide, Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Laura Meltzer said Thursday. The children were hospitalized at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Meltzer said.
“They were in very bad shape,” she said.
The children were taken into custody by child protective services, Meltzer said.
Both had suffered multiple broken bones and appeared malnourished, the complaint said, adding that one twin had suffered brain bleeding.
The complaint also accuses the parents of failing to obtain proper immunization and medical care for their twins, both born prematurely.
Prosecutors charged Thomas with 15 counts of child abuse resulting in substantial bodily or mental harm. They charged Hunt with five such counts and one count of child endangerment resulting in substantial bodily or mental harm.
The Clark County Division of Family Services received a report alleging abuse or neglect regarding the family on June 17, 2017. The division failed to reach the family or find enough evidence to support the claim and determined the allegations were unsubstantiated.
The parents are jailed without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.
A preliminary hearing for the child abuse case is scheduled for Sept. 20, court records show.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.
