10-Year-Old Girl Tortured And Beaten With Metal Mop As Punishment, Parents Arrested For Her Death
A 10-year-old girl was found dead in their home, and her parents said that she fell down the basement stairs. However, upon close inspection, the police saw the child’s horrific injuries that appeared to be due to severe beatings.
In connection with her death, the girl’s parents, Sharon Carrillo, 33, and stepfather Julio Carrillo, 51, were arrested and charged with murder. The girl was identified as Marrissa Kennedy, and police found her lifeless body in one of the condominium units in Stockton Springs on Saturday, February 24.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Sharon and Julio tried to cover up the cause of Marissa’s death by staging a scene in their home. Apparently, the couple wanted to mislead the investigators by making them believe that their daughter’s death was accidental.
The truth was revealed after the parents were taken into police custody and confessed to the crime. Prior to their confession, it was learned that the pair changed their stories several times.
Now, based on state police affidavit, 10-year-old Marrissa was a victim of battered child syndrome, and as per the autopsy report, her injuries included a lacerated liver and bleeding on the brain. The girl’s body also had bruises and wounds on her legs, stomach, head, and knees.
The home where the family was staying is owned by Sharon Carrillo’s parents. They live in upstate New York and were letting them stay here. The Carrillo’s other two young children are now in DHHS custody. #liveoncbs13 pic.twitter.com/MQIvDCY1mK
— Dan Lampariello (@DanWGME) February 27, 2018
For months prior to her demise, Marrissa suffered grave abuse at the hands of her own parents. There were times when she was locked up for a long time in a dark closet and other times she was hit as punishment.
The Carrillos admitted to the investigators that they also punished Marrissa by forcing her to kneel on the kitchen’s hard floor, after which she was whipped with a belt or hit with a fist. The parents confessed that they made the girl kneel on the tile floor instead of the carpet so that it would hurt her more.
Additionally, there was a time when Marrissa was hit with a metal mop handle. It was so savage that the mop was broken.
According to the Sun Journal, the beatings went on from October 2017 until February 22 or February 23 of this year. By February, because she was hit and tortured regularly, Marrissa might have already sustained serious injuries that she could no longer walk or speak without slurring her speech.
Accused of physically abusing a young child for months, and even trying to stage her death, the parents of a 10-year-old girl are now charged with murder: https://t.co/yXZAbmGJ16 pic.twitter.com/UAlNBNK8la
— CBS 13 News (@WGME) February 27, 2018
Julio told the investigators that by this time, he already stopped beating up the child, but his wife continued to harm her. He alleged that Sharon was punishing her daughter because she thinks she was faking her injuries.
The final beating took place last weekend, and it sadly ended the young girl’s life. Julio and Sharon Carrillo attempted to make it look like the girl died as a result of a bad fall.
“Julio Carrillo explained that he knew Marissa Kennedy was badly injured and in need of medical help but chose not to get her help because he figured Sharon Carillo would lie about how she was hurting Marissa Kennedy and he would be the only one left to blame because he would be honest about what he was doing to her,” the court affidavit reads.
Meanwhile, Sharon and Julio had two other younger children, but police did not find any indication that they were abused like their older sister. The accused parents were slapped with one felony count each of depraved indifference murder.
