Couple arrested after ‘emaciated’ girl, 9, with Covid found
A woman and her boyfriend have been arrested after police found an “extremely emaciated” girl, 9, at their home.
Lakendra Williams, 30, called the police last Thursday (local time) to report a girl in her care had passed out on her couch and was cold to the touch, local publication KSAT reported.
Emergency responders said they noticed the young girl was “extremely emaciated” when they arrived at the home and rushed her to the hospital.
Doctors later told police the nine-year-old weighed 15 kilograms - the weight of a four-year-old.
They also said the child had visible injuries and open wounds on her body and tested positive for Covid-19, according to the police affidavit.
Police allege the girl told doctors Williams and her boyfriend Walter Hawthorne, 34, hit her with a leash until she passed out, KSAT reported.
She also suggested that she had been tied up by her ankles, the police affidavit said.
Doctors say 9-year-old girl was 'lucky to survive'
Doctors told officers that the nine-year-old is “lucky to have survived”.
Police claim Williams and Hawthorne told them the girl was “evil” and was trying to get them in trouble with the law.
Williams allegedly told officers the girl stopped eating for “some unknown reason”.
The pair were arrested on suspicion of causing injury to a child and remain in jail. Their bail is set at $136,965.
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