According to court documents, a Texas mother was charged with capital murder on Monday after police alleged that she had strangled and bagged her 5-year-old daughter at a park north of Houston.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez stated that Melissa Towne, 37, is said to have confessed to the homicide after the youngster was discovered in her Jeep Cherokee wrapped in plastic and mesh bags.
Bond Set at $15 Million For Texas Mom
Gonzalez claimed that the girl's neck appeared to have been cut and bore signs of ligature or strangling. Towne was being held instead of a $15 million bond, according to jail records.
The Sheriff reported that the murder took place on Sunday at Tomball's Spring Creek Park. According to KPRC, Towne is charged with transporting the minor to the hospital, where an ER nurse discovered her in the Jeep. According to Gonzalez, the clinic declared the girl deceased.
According to a court hearing on Monday, Towne told officials that she brought the child to the woods in the park and sliced her throat in a statement that reportedly confessed to the killing. Towne reportedly strangled the kid for more than 30 minutes when she didn't pass away, according to the station.
It was demonstrated in court that Towne intentionally chose to end her daughter's life. Records indicate that she took Nichole to the Spring Creek Park woodlands. Towne declared Nichole to be evil and claimed he no longer wanted to work with her.
Towne instructed Nichole to kneel while taking a knife out of her backpack, according to court documents. According to officials, Nichole pushed back and said she had behaved well.
Suspect Reassures The Death of Her Daughter
Authorities said that is when Towne allegedly cut her throat. According to court records, Towne strangled and suffocated the girl for 30 to 45 minutes with a trash bag after she failed to pass away. Authorities reported that a knife was discovered in Towne's pocket.
Investigators claim that Towne drove Nichole to an emergency room in Tomball where she requested a wheelchair for Nichole while claiming that her body was suffering.
According to court filings, Nichole was discovered by an ER nurse who went outside to the Townes' Jeep. Nichole was found wrapped in plastic and a bag. According to the investigators, she had apparent neck injuries, and minutes later, physicians declared her dead.
Towne allegedly told Tomball police that she killed Nichole at Spring Creek Park before taking her to the hospital, according to investigators, but they claim they were unable to discover any evidence of a crime scene there. Deputies looked for evidence of a murder scene at the park, but they were unsuccessful, according to Spectrum News 1. Officials from the HCSO verified that the child was not killed in the car.
Towne had a weapon in her pocket when deputies patted her down. The following statement was made public by a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services representative. If Melissa White Towne had pleaded guilty to the accusations or hired a lawyer to speak on her behalf, it was not immediately evident.
If you have any suspicions about child abuse, contact Childhelp's National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All phone calls are free and private. The hotline is accessible around-the-clock in more than 170 languages, WLTX reported.
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