A dresser was located near the mattress in the closet
Police in Virginia are investigating the death of a 14-month-old girl after a dresser reportedly fell on her.
According to
reports, the 20-year-old mum called first responders at approximately 4 pm, but when they reached her home in South Hill, they discovered the child had been dead for hours.
A firefighter with the Spokane Fire Department located the child inside the house but said he knew she was dead immediately. It is believed the infant was cold and stiff when they found her, meaning she had been dead for far longer than they ever expected.
The mum told the police that a dresser fell on her daughter when they arrived at the scene.
Police found the family home in an extremely untidy state. The deceased and their 3-year-old sibling shared a room. There was a mattress on the floor and another mattress in the wardrobe.
The mum said she was working the night shift until 2.30 am. When she returned home she went straight to bed and didn't check on her children.
She woke up at 1 pm the next day. The woman said she didn't interact with her two children until around 3 pm.
After their snack, she put the children back in their room and didn't go back until her partner called out and said the dresser had fallen on their daughter.
A dresser was located near the mattress in the closet, according to officers.
There were bruises, in various stages of healing, on the child's body and she was wearing a dirty nappy.
Police are currently treating the toddler's death as a homicide and criminal mistreatment. The couple's other child, who is 3-years-old, has been taken into custody by Child Protective Services.
