Girl, 5, Beaten To Death With Wooden Toy She Made In Sunday School

The grandmother of a five-year-old girl, who was beaten to death with a wooden toy that she made in Sunday school, is speaking out for the first time since the incident.

The Daily Mail reports that grandmother Shelley Flatt-Blevins is speaking about the death of her five-year-old granddaughter for the first time in six years. Kati Earnest was beaten to death by her mother’s boyfriend, Tommy Castro, in 2009 after she accidentally peed in Castro’s car. Shelley’s son, Nelson, is the father of Kati, but did not have custody of the child.

Blevins claims that her granddaughter was first beaten with a wooden toy she made in Sunday school before being pummeled by Castro’s fists. After beating the girl with the toy and his bare hands, Castro proceeded to stomp on the child with his full weight. Blevins said that the hardest part of the court proceedings was when she heard that Kati’s mother, Kristina Earnest, stood by watching as Castro beat the tiny girl to death.

“During the court hearing I learnt that she’d stood by and watched while evil Castro viciously beat Kati black and blue.”

During the trial, Kristina claims that she did not intervene in the deadly beating because she didn’t want to “make it worse” for her daughter. However, the autopsy showed that the attack was so brutal it left Kati’s spleen split into two. After the beating, the Mirror reports Castro wasn’t done with the little girl. After beating the girl so badly her internal organs were damaged, Castro then made the five-year-old do military exercises meant for men.

“The severe beating damaged her internal organs. He then made her carry out military exercises – exercises meant for grown men. It was dreadful. She must have suffered. And all the time her mom watched and did nothing.”

Once Castro was through with the child, she was placed in a bath where she said she didn’t feel well and began to vomit. The little girl would die in that very bathtub before her mother would take her to the hospital.

After Kati died, Kristina and Tommy took the little girl to the hospital claiming she had drown in the bathtub. However, autopsy reports indicated that the couple was not telling the truth. Shelley says that she learned from police the truth behind her granddaughter’s horrific murder.

“I learnt from police that an autopsy on Kati’s body indicated she’d died of blunt force trauma and hadn’t drowned.”

Shortly after, Kristina and Tommy would be arrested on charges of murder in Kati’s death. Shelley said Tommy’s trial was extremely difficult as she had to sit and listen to a series of lies about her precious granddaughter.

“He called Kati ‘disrespectful,’ and a ‘liar,’ when he took to the stand. This was rubbish. Kati was a lovely little girl, as good as gold.”

Castro was convicted of murder in the death of Kati and received a life sentence. Kristina was sentenced to 18 years for “causing injury to a child by omission.” However, Shelley doesn’t want Kristina to ever be released from prison.

“I don’t agree and think she should never be freed. As Kati’s mother, it was her job to protect her. Not only did she not protect her she stood there and watched him beat Kati to death. She didn’t raise a finger to help her poor daughter.”

What do you think about the charges against the mother? Should she have received a harsher sentence for not intervening as her boyfriend beat her five-year-old daughter to death?

[Image Credit: Mugshots via Randall County Sheriff’s Department]