The child was just a meter tall and weighed 75 pounds
A woman from Florida is facing murder charges after a punishment she meted to her nine-year-old cousin resulted in a cardiac arrest, killing the child.
According to South China post, the 64-year old Veronica Posey, who is obese and weighs 342 pounds sat on the top of the child named Dericka Lindsay for misbehaving.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said that a few minutes after Posey sat on the little girl, she complained of suffocation but by the time the heavily built stood up, the girl went unconscious.
According to an arrest report, the child was just a meter tall and weighed 75 pounds whereas Posey was four times the size of the girl weighing 342 pounds.
The freak incident occurred in a home in Pensacola, Florida at about 1.30 p.m. Saturday.
According to the statement given by the girl’s mother, she called Posey to her place after finding her daughter mischievous. Posey, who was her niece, was entrusted to discipline the child but the whole attempt turned deadly.
The report doesn’t have clear details regarding how much time Posey sat on the child.
According to Pensacola News Journal, Posey admonished and caned her using s ruler and a metal pipe after which the girl sat on an armchair. James Smith, 62, told officers that Posey sat on his daughter for close to 10 minutes, putting her in immense pressure causing asphyxia. Though Lindsay complained about breathing issue, Posey continued to sit on her for another 2 to 3 minutes before she passed off.
In the arrest report, Posey has said she called 911 as soon as she realized the girl was unconscious and even performed an emergency CPR to revive her.
The report doesn’t mention whether the child’s parents helped Posey in reviving their daughter but it says she died an hour after being taken to the hospital.
Police confirmed that Posey has been charged with second-degree murder and child abuse of aggravated level. On the other hand, both the parents of the child, who were home at the time of the freak incident have been charged with child negligence.
The arraigning of the accused and the parents are scheduled for November 3.
There are reports that the parents had consulted Mike Carroll, secretary of the state’s Department of Children and Families, which is Florida’s child welfare system. The details of the interaction have been kept private as Florida law prohibits the agency from divulging details about activities in which children are involved.
Once the investigators determine that the child’s death is the result of abuse or neglect, the records will become public.