‘They deserve torture’: New details emerge in case against parents accused of fatally scalding 4-year-old girl

A woman and her boyfriend were arraigned on a number of felony charges after a 4-year-old girl in their custody was found dead on Jan. 1 with sever burns covering almost all of her body.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Candice Diaz and Brad Fields spent about a week on the run before authorities arrested them in Georgia.

The couple, both of whom have reportedly suffered from mental health issues, also had a 1-year-old girl in their custody at the time of her half-sister Gabrielle’s death. That girl has since been taken into the custody of social workers.

According to court documents, the deceased girl’s injuries went beyond the extensive burns, which Diaz claimed resulted from her allowing Gabrielle to prepare her own bath. Investigators reported finding a significant amount of melted skin inside of the bathtub.

Reports indicate the girl was also covered in bruises and other apparent evidence of prior abuse, as reported by WDIV.

After she was burned on New Year’s Eve, Diaz allegedly opted not to report the injuries until the girl began to drown and vomited during a subsequent bath the following day.

Kyle Barrett, the girl’s father, expressed relief that the people accused of her death are now behind bars.

“I’m glad they were caught,” he said. “They deserve everything they should get. They deserve torture, hard times, worse than they did to my daughter.”

Diaz and Fields each face charges of felony murder, second-degree murder, torture and first-degree child abuse.

[Featured image: Candice Diaz and Brad Fields/Police Handout]