Kacey V. Lilly and Edward Lilly (LVMPD)
A 42-year-old mother in Nevada and her 43-year-old husband have been arrested after the woman’s 13-year-old emaciated daughter was found wandering around in a grocery store parking lot because she was allegedly “tired” of at-home punishments that included being beaten, burned, and starved. Kacey V. Lilly and Edward Lilly were taken into custody last week and charged with three counts each of child abuse/neglect and two counts each of child abuse/neglect resulting in substantial bodily harm, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, a female witness leaving a bar in Las Vegas at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 16 spotted a 13-year-old girl wandering around the parking lot of Albertson’s grocery store located in the 1100 block of Village Center Circle. Noticing that the girl had visible burn marks, cuts, and scars on her and was “not the appropriate size for her age,” the witness called 911.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department spoke with the victim and noticed she had several burns on her palms and arms and multiple cuts on her hands and face.
“[The victim] stated she ran away from home because she was tired of getting punished. [Her] biological father passed away years ago and since then she has been punished on a regular basis for ‘doing the wrong thing’ or ‘staring,”” the affidavit states. “[The victim’s] mother, Kacey, and stepfather, Edward, would slap her in the face for staring at them. [The victim] has been homeschooled since she was 8 years old and does not have any friends. [The victim] does not like being at home because it makes her sad.”
In an interview with police, Kacey Lilly allegedly admitted to beating the victim if she caught her staring at Edward Lilly. When asked why she would react that way, she allegedly said it was because the victim “admitted to having a crush on Edward.”
“I asked Kacey [Lilly] how that made her feel and she stated it bothered her to have another woman staring at her man; it made her want to attack,” police wrote in the affidavit. “Kacey [Lilly] stated, ‘Hey, that’s mine, you know. Back the fuck off, that’s mine.”’
The mother also claimed that the victim would listen to her and Edward Lilly when they had sex.
Asked why her daughter was so skinny, Kacey Lilly said she did not know, saying that the child could eat whatever she wanted, but claiming that she also “likes to steal food.”
Edward Lilly claimed he had never physically disciplined the victim, whom he described as “defiant” and never doing what she was told.
In a forensic interview at the Southern Nevada Child Advocacy Center, the victim said she did not want to go back home with her mom and stepdad “due to being ‘smacked’ and punished all of the time,” per the affidavit.
“When asked about being punished, [the victim] stated she does not like having her hand on the stove,” police wrote. “When asked why she thought [her mom] may have burned her, [the victim] stated [her mom] was mad at her for staring at Edward.”
She also explained how her mother would hold her hand under hot water as punishment.
The victim also told police that her stepfather would beat her as well, though he wouldn’t hit as hard as her mother.
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