Last week, a woman from Texas was detained by authorities for beating her 5-year-old goddaughter to death. She blamed the child's injuries on dust mites, according to KFDM.
Beaten to death
The medics immediately responded to the child's home on June 26. They found the 32-year-old Brenika Lott performing CPR on Daviana Landry, who was nude and had bruises on her chest, arms, and facial areas, according to an affidavit that was filed in the arrest documents.
The child's eyes were also bruised and was swollen shut, according to the affidavit. The police believed that she had been dead for days, based on the condition of the body, as reported by KFDM.
Lott and her 11-year-old son went to the Orange Police Department with the police on June 26, where she claimed that she found the 5-year-old girl on the floor of the living room. She claimed that she woke her son up and had him call 911, that was when she started CPR.
The little girl is the daughter of the suspect's close friend who lives in Louisiana. The little girl had been staying with Lott for days. The affidavit stated that when Lott was asked about the injuries of the little girl, she said it was from dust mites. Lott stated that she treated Daviana's insect bits with Calamine lotion.
The suspect also reported that the little girl had sustained a minor injury at the back of her head, and she treated it with a liquid band-aid. Lott said that the child sustained the injury from playing on a slip and slide in the backyard on June 25 and that it was only a scratch.
The autopsy results stated that the child died from craniocerebral trauma, including skull fractures, subdural hemorrhage, and brainstem contusions. The main reason of death was ruled as a homicide.
The investigators shared the results and pictures of the little girl and the traumatic injuries that resulted in her death with Lott, she ignored the results and said that the injuries were from insect bites.
The real story
However, the 11-year-old son of the suspect contradicted her story. According to the boy, he saw his mother beat up the girl numerous times and that he saw her hit the little girl in the head.
The affidavit said that when they asked the boy to clarify the details about the assault, the boy said Lott pushed the little girl, slapped her, and choked her. He also said Lott hit the girl with objects and kicked her.
The little girl's family, who are living in Thibodaux, Louisiana, is struggling to make sense of the horrific tragedy. Lynnotta Kennedy, a family friend, told 12 News Now the girl's mother is hurting and can't imagine what her little girl had gone through, and the family is asking for privacy in this time of mourning.
Kennedy said that she grew up with Lott and that she knows her very well, according to 4WWL. She said that tragedy makes it difficult to trust people. Lott was chosen as Daviana's Godparent because she is close to the family and has known them for years.
