Testimony in the case of an 11-year-old girl who was found in a Bradenton, Florida, freezer in October indicates that her mother may have tied the child up and dunked her in water prior to her death.
Janiya Thomas' eldest sister told investigators that "she saw their mother tie Janiya up and dunk her head in water inside the bathroom she was regularly locked in," the Bradenton Herald reports. A 12-year-old brother told investigators that when he came home, Janiya was gone and the bathroom was cleaned out.
Janiya was last seen by child welfare workers in June 2014, but she wasn't reported missing until this October, when her body was found. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office received a call that said Janiya was in a freezer that her mother, Keishanna Thomas, had brought to the home.
"The child was completely frozen and appeared emaciated," Bradenton Police Detective Adrian Meridan wrote in his report. "The child had been placed into a cardboard box which had been taped shut. Sitting on top of the box were two orange boxes of baking soda."
Thomas’ boyfriend, Trayvon McCollough, told investigators that he helped Thomas move the freezer but didn't know what was in it, the Herald reported. He said the freezer was in her apartment but was never opened.
The Herald reported other incidents between Janiya and her mother, including: the 11-year-old being made to sit on the toilet for long periods of time, the girl rummaging through the garbage to find food because she was hungry, and sleeping naked in the bathroom.
Thomas, 32, was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a dead body, and aggravated child abuse. She could be sentenced to death, or life in prison.
She is also due to stand trial in May on charges of abusing her 12-year-old son.
Read more at the Bradenton Herald.
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