A man and a woman were arrested Monday morning after a 2-year-old girl they were babysitting at a home in Gainesville died Sunday from various injuries, authorities said.
Juan Martinez, 31, and Nancy Martinez, 32, were charged with murder and first-degree cruelty to children in the death of the child. They are being held at the Hall County Jail without bond.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the married couple was looking after the child at a home in the 2000 block of Bennett Circle while her parents were at work, Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Officer Derreck Booth said. Between noon and 2 p.m., Juan Martinez and Nancy Martinez caused “traumatic brain injury and other internal injuries” to the child, Booth said.
Hall County Fire Services took the child to Northeast Georgia Medical Center following a medical call around 1:50 p.m. She was eventually transferred to a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta location, where she died from her injuries, Booth said.
The child’s body has been sent to the GBI’s Crime Lab for an autopsy. The case remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office.
Family members created a GoFundMe campaign to help the child’s parents with funeral and medical expenses.
“We never ever thought we would ever have to make one of these but here we are,” a family member wrote on the campaign. “The Lord called a little angel home.”
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