‘Her eyes are halfway up her head’: 911 caller first found 5-year-old Dhani Shanafelt ‘cold’ and halfway under a bed; refused dispatcher’s offer to walk them through CPR

The relative went to check on the mother and daughter after they were unable to reach them for a couple of days. First responders found no signs of life

The 911 call that brought police to the home of a mother and daughter found mysteriously dead has revealed grisly details about the scene and raised further questions about what happened to the woman and her young child.

The Courier & Press obtained audio of the 911 call made from Kimbra Shanafelt’s Evansville home on Wednesday night, showing that a relative went to the home before first responders arrived. The unidentified relative reportedly had a key and had not been able to reach Kimbra by phone for a couple of days.

“I think something bad’s happened,” the relative reportedly said in the 911 call, before explaining that they had found Kimbra’s daughter Dahni lying partially under a bed.

“[I]t looks like she’s thrown up or something, and she’s cold, and her eyes are halfway up in her head.”

The caller asked for someone to respond to the home right away, and declined the offer of the dispatcher to walk them through administering CPR to the girl, who may have been deceased by that time.

First responders reportedly discovered Kimbra’s body in the garage of the home. Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding had initially told the Courier & Press that Kimba had “obvious trauma” to her face and body, but an autopsy did not find evidence of trauma. Authorities now await the results of toxicology tests, which are expected in about three weeks.

Though the 911 caller had a key to the home, it does not appear that they lived with Kimbra and Dahni. A Facebook page appearing to belong to Kimbra Shanafelt indicates that she has a son older than Dahni. It is not known if the older son lived with the mother and daughter.

Wedding told the Courier & Press that Kimbra had moved to the home about five months ago, and there were no other police calls since that time.

CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.

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