Investigators are looking into the death of a 9-year-old disabled girl whose body was found stuffed inside the refrigerator of a Houston, Texas apartment on Sunday.
The body of Ayahna Comb was found wrapped in a blanket in the fridge at her mother's unlocked apartment by a neighbor who had not seen her for months, KTRK-TV reported. The mother, who was not home when Comb's body was found, voluntarily submitted to police questioning on Tuesday. She was released without being charged, the station reported.
Investigators are not exactly sure when the girl died, but they suspect she has been dead for at least a month. Investigators are also waiting for the result of an autopsy to determine how she died.
The child reportedly suffered from cerebral palsy and was in the care of her mother. The girl's father, Armand Comb, told KHOU-TV he had not seen his daughter in two months.
"Last time I saw her, she was looking good. It looked like she was gaining weight. Her cheeks were kind of fat. I would never, never suspect that," the father said.
He said the last time he talked to the child's mother, Amber Keyes, was on Monday.
"She was talking like she was there with them," the father told KHOU-TV.
The child's 5-year-old sister, Arabea Comb, was staying with her father before the incident. Officials held an emergency custody hearing for the sister after Ayahna's body was found, KTRK-TV reported. The result of the hearing was not immediately known.
Kathy Comb, the girl's grandmother, said she does not know what happened to her granddaughter.
"The child had a lot of disabilities and [Keyes] was her caregiver. Now sometimes she would leave the kids with someone else. I don't know what happened. All I know is that we'd like to take my grandbaby home." the grandmother told KTRK-TV.
