CPS was called multiple times before mother slit 5-year-old daughter’s throat in Tomball Woods, report says
TOMBALL, Texas – More details are released on the murder of a 5-year-old girl who was reportedly brutally stabbed to death by her mother in October 2022.
SEE ALSO: Mother who admitted to fatally stabbing her 5-year-old daughter hospitalized 9 times, lawyer says
The boy’s mother, who has been identified by authorities as Melissa Towne, 37, says she stabbed the boy in the neck at Spring Creek Park, located on the 15000 block of Brown Road in the Tomball area, on Oct. 16, 2022.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office accepted the capital murder charge against Towne, and she was incarcerated in the Harris County Jail.
His bond was set at $15 million.
SEE ALSO: Bond set at $15 million for mother who allegedly admitted to fatally stabbing her 5-year-old daughter at Tomball Park, court documents say
Gruesome details
According to authorities, Towne took his daughter to the park, walked towards the woods, brought her to her knees and slit her throat, but the girl did not die immediately.
The report stated that the little girl allegedly began screaming: “I did good” at her mother as she made “a great effort to stay alive”.
Detectives said Towne told his daughter, “Stop fighting her.”
The mother then allegedly placed a plastic bag over her daughter’s head and sat on the baby to suffocate her until her body became lifeless.
Harris County Sheriff’s Deputies said Towne then went to the emergency room at HCA Tomball Hospital. Towne asked hospital staff for a wheelchair because “his daughter’s body ached,” the HCSO report said.
An ER nurse went to Towne’s Jeep Cherokee, where she found the 5-year-old boy’s body partially wrapped in plastic bags and mesh, according to investigators. Deputies said the girl was unresponsive and a laceration was visible on her neck.
The child was then pronounced dead.
Court documents showed that, prior to the incident, Towne had believed his son was evil and stated that he “didn’t want anything to do with her again,” even comparing her to the “Chuckie” doll featured in horror films. .
Tomball Police Department officers were called to the hospital and arrested Towne.
She was then taken to the HCSO’s Homicide Unit, where investigators said she provided a statement and admitted to intentionally killing her daughter.
Infant mortality report released to the public
An infant mortality report was released to the public, showing that Child Protective Services had become involved with Towne multiple times and that there was an open investigation into her prior to her daughter’s death.
According to the report, the deceased child lived with her father and Towne. On the day she was killed, the girl was left alone in the care of her mother, who reportedly had serious emotional and mental health problems.
Towne has three other children, ranging in age from 2 to 18.
The report shows Towne’s other younger children were safe with another man, said to be their father, who had the support of his family to care for the siblings. Towne didn’t have access to those children.
According to the report, Towne’s other two children were raised by other relatives and also had no contact with their mother.
The investigation also found that Towne and the 5-year-old’s father neglected to supervise the girl.
Previous allegations and investigations
The Child Fatality Report shows that CPS was informed that the 5-year-old was covered in scars and insect bites. He also reportedly had wounds from scratching infected bites, which were believed to have led to scarring.
According to the report, the girl reeked of urine and was still wearing pull-up diapers. The child was not enrolled in a school but was described by investigators as an intelligent child.
The father admitted that he worked and occasionally left his daughter with a babysitter he met on social media.
The department said it was unable to confirm whether the father had medically or physically neglected the child at the time.
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