A Kansas couple blamed a 5-year-old’s injuries — injuries that led to the girl’s death last month — on the girl herself.
But Kyle Valle, 35, and Lia Corbin, 24, have now been charged with murder in connection with the child’s death on January 27, WIBW reports.
Topeka police and medics answered a 911 call for a medical emergency at about 6:30 p.m. that day. Corbin said she didn’t believe her daughter was breathing, and a dispatcher instructed her and Valle on CPR until medics got there, affidavits say.
Officers who arrived at the scene reported seeing Valle bring the little girl to the front door wrapped in a blanket. The officers saw severe bruising on the girl, swollen eyes, bleeding on the head, and apparent burns over a significant portion of her body. The child was taken to a local hospital, where she died.
The affidavits, which were released to the public on Thursday, say that Valle told officers the girl had a “history” of pouring soap on herself and that their efforts to clean the soap off made it look like she was burned. He also said the girl was having a “mental episode” earlier in the day.
According to KSNT, Corbin said she sent her daughter to her room because she refused to take a bath. Thirty minutes later, she said, she found her unresponsive. She told them that she let Valle know about the girl’s condition then went to store. When she returned, she called 911.
Officers said the little girl appeared emaciated and had suspected cigarette burns, open wounds, and bruises across much of her body.
Officers described the inside of the apartment as dirty and cluttered, even unhygienic, WIBW said. They saw a bottle of peroxide on the bathroom sink and a bathtub half-full of room-temperature water with cigarette butts on the tub ledge. They said there was evidence in the tub that someone was injured, but didn’t describe what that evidence was.
Elsewhere, they found used tape and Velcro straps in and outside the little girl’s closet, a bucket with urine in the closet, blood spatter from the right corner of the closet with an upward trajectory toward the ceiling — blood was also on the ceiling — and more than 50 plastic grocery bags with apparent human feces.
Both Valle and Corbin were charged earlier this month with two counts of first degree murder, endangering a child, abuse of a child, interference with law enforcement, and possession of drug paraphernalia KSNT reported. They are being held on $5 million bonds.
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[Featured image: Kyle Valle and Lia Corbin/Shawnee County Department of Corrections]