A Texas mother is behind bars after Houston police said she fatally beat her young daughter, then falsely claimed that the girl had fallen from a balcony.
According to KPRC, Andrea Webb, 21, of Houston, was charged Monday with serious bodily injury to a child in connection with the death of 5-year-old Samantha Bell. Webb likely will face a murder charge after an autopsy reveals the girl's cause of death, officials said.
In a 911 call late Saturday, Webb said Samantha had fallen from a second-floor balcony at their Houston apartment building, KPRC reported. But detectives said the girl's wounds didn't support Webb's claim.
Police said Webb eventually changed her story, admitting that she had beaten the girl with a belt after making her "sit against a wall without the support of a seat," KPRC reported. During the beating, Webb also told her boyfriend, who was not identified, to get a thicker belt from one of her neighbors, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Webb is being held on $50,000 bond, KPRC reported. Police also arrested her boyfriend on a parole violation, the Chronicle reported.
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