A malnourished seven-year-old girl died in an Oklahoma hospital just days after telling a kind-hearted neighbor that her abusive parents loved her.
Violet Mitchell was taken to St. Anthony’s Medical Center on August 2, where doctors said she was “extremely malnourished” and was “basically skin and bones” with “sunken eyes.” reports the Kansas City Star.
But just two earlier, a kind neighbor tried to help the young girl.
‘I took her with me [in] because she was hungry,” Tera Day told NewsNation. “I fed her chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and carrots.”
Day noted that the girl “didn’t tell me anything about her parents, only that they loved her.
“That’s all she said and she cried, and I took her home,” Day said.
A newly released autopsy has since revealed that Mitchell’s death was due to a ‘failure to thrive’ after she discovered a plastic baby bottle blocking her small intestine.
She weighed just 29 pounds, was wrapped in a blanket and was wearing “a diaper otherwise sized for a three-year-old,” doctors told investigators, according to documents. obtained by KOCO.
Violet Mitchell was taken to St. Anthony’s Medical Center in Midwest City, Oklahoma, on August 2, where she was pronounced dead
Violet’s mother, Lisa Mitchell, and her boyfriend, Anthony Yonko, were arrested for child neglect and aggravated assault.
Neighbor Tera Day said she offered the young girl food just days before she died
She also had a bacterial infection and injuries to her cheek, shoulder and left leg, as well as a ‘light green’ discoloration on her abdomen.
Violet’s mother, Lisa Mitchell, and her boyfriend, Anthony Yonko, were later arrested for child neglect and aggravated assault.
Police said they received a call shortly after doctors pronounced Violet dead from a family member who said he had skipped a group phone call in which numerous people were “trying to come up with the same story about Violet’s death.” according to the Oklahoman.
The caller also said that Anthony’s brother, David, and Lisa’s sister, Tiffany, admitted they knew Violet was dead before she was taken to the hospital.
An arrest report also states that one of Violet’s cousins, another 7-year-old girl, told investigators she knew Violet died in a crib, where her arms and legs were often tied with string.
The young girl then told police that her cousin was given bread and little else to eat, and told police that her mother “spilled hot soup on Violet, on her face and arms,” according to an affidavit.
She also said that Lisa often beat her daughter, usually with a broomstick, glued her mouth shut and kept Violet in a crib for long periods of time – possibly a month – and remained tied up when her mother and Anthony left the house.
When Violet cried, “her mother and Anthony cursed her and withheld food from her.”
The girl claimed that she would sometimes grab Violet and run out of her apartment so her parents would stop hitting and untie her cousin, but then tie her up again before everyone returned, out of fear.
Anthony’s brother David and Lisa’s sister, Tiffany, were also arrested in connection with the case when police determined they knew about the abuse but failed to report it to police.
According to a police statement, Violet was left in a crib when her parents tried to leave the apartment
Anthony’s brother David and Lisa’s sister, Tiffany, were also arrested in connection with the case when police determined they knew about the abuse but did not report it to police.
Violet’s parents and Tiffany are now being held on a $5 million bond, while David is being held on a $1 million bond.
The parents have pleaded not guilty and initially told police they thought Violet had the flu when they took her to the hospital.
That morning, Anthony said he woke up to his girlfriend telling him that Violet wasn’t moving and was sick, and his brother then took them to the hospital.
The couple also had other children who are now in the care of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, according to KOCO.
Mitchell is now due in court on November 27.
Meanwhile, community members are calling for justice for the young girl.
“They should spend the rest of their lives in jail because that’s a baby,” said Bridgette McCullough, another neighbor.
“That’s a baby, they’re so helpless.”