A 4-year-old girl was found dead in a closet, and a relative has been arrested.
Greenville, Mississippi, police said they were asked to check on the welfare of a child on Monday by a parent who said a relative had been keeping the child.
Police said they “were later led to a closet” where they found the decomposing body “of what appeared to be a 4yr old child.”
Catricia Hardy, 34, was arrested and charged with manslaughter and child deprivation of necessaries wit substation harm.
The remains of the child have been sent to the state crime lab for formal identification while Hardy awaits an initial court appearance.
Police did not say what her relationship was with the dead child. Delta News identified the child as Zyiah Smith, citing Greenville Police Chief Marcus Turner, and said the request to check on her came from her father, Leonardo Smith.
The girl’s grandmother, Pamela Hall, told Delta News that she and the girl’s mother, Nyeisha Dixon, hadn’t seen Zyiah for about two years and that they had been unable to get information from her father, who had sole custody, or the Department of Human Services.
Hall said the little girl’s body was found in a plastic tote in the closet.
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[Featured image: Zyiah Smith/Delta News screenshot and Catricia Hardy/Greenville Police Department]
