Ayahna Comb: 9-Year-Old Child With Cerebral Palsy Found Dead Inside Refrigerator

Ayahna Comb, a 9-year-old child who suffered from cerebral palsy, was found dead inside a refrigerator in Houston, Texas, KHOU reports.

Comb, who lived with her mother Amber Keyes, was discovered Monday by concerned neighbors after they noticed that they haven’t seen the child in a while. According to reports, worried neighbors found Ayahna Comb’s body wrapped in a blanket and tucked inside a drawer inside their apartment’s refrigerator.

Paramedics confirmed Ayahna Comb’s death while investigators estimated that she had been inside the refrigerator for at least one month already. However, Child Protective Services told the court Wednesday that the child had been inside the refrigerator since she died in January, according to Click2Houston‘s latest report. Homicide investigators searched Comb’s mother’s residence and found out that the apartment was lived in recently.

Ayahna’s father, Armand Comb, expressed his shock and sadness over his child’s passing. Comb said that he thought Ayahna was still alive and claimed that the the last time he saw his daughter was two months ago, contrary to what had been claimed by CPS case workers during the court hearings.

Comb claimed that when he called Ayahna’s mother last Monday, it appeared to him that the child was with the mother while they were speaking. He said:

“She was talking like she was there with them,”

Amber Keyes is Armand Comb’s ex-girlfriend and takes care of Ayahna.

Keyes was interrogated Tuesday, one day after the body of Ayahna was discovered. In a hearing held Wednesday, it was claimed in an investigator’s affidavit that Keyes hid the girl’s death from her family.

According to the affidavit, Keyes admitted to placing Ayahna’s dead body inside the refrigerator on January 29, after the child already stopped breathing, although she did not explain why. The caseworker who evaluated Ayahna’s remains reported that the child only weighed 14 pounds when she was discovered Monday. Keyes also admitted that she hasn’t taken her child to a medical doctor or enrolled to study in school in two years. It was also reported that Keyes continued to acquire Social Security Disability Income and food stamps even after Ayahna’s death.

Keyes reportedly hid Ayahna’s death to her five-year-old sister, who lived in the same apartment. However, investigators noted that the child may have discovered her sister’s death herself, telling playmates about the dead body inside their refrigerator.

However, Armand Comb insisted in court that she just saw Ayahna Comb two months ago. He even added that Ayahna appeared to be in good health the last time he saw her. He said:

“Last time I saw her, she was looking good. It looked like she was gaining weight. Her cheeks were kind of fat. I would never, never suspect that”

[Image from KHOU]