Child, 2, dies from severe burns; mother in custody

(5/28/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- We're learning new details about the investigation into the death of a two-year-old girl. She died from severe burns all over her body. The toddler had only been living with her mother for the past year.

The little girl's mother told police her daughter stumbled into a campfire a couple of days ago. But doctors who treated her say it's more likely she was dipped into a substance hot enough to cause third degree burns.

The death of the girl at Memorial Hermann Hospital led police to an apartment on Coolwood near Fleming in northeast Houston. Nobody answered the door when we stopped by, but neighbors were home and had heard about the child's bizarre burns.

"If something like that happened to my child, I would lose my mind," said neighbor Lequitta Earl.

Investigators say the young girl was brought to the hospital Monday morning with burns to her feet, buttocks, and genitals. The girl's mother told police the girl had been burned in a campfire two days ago, injuries that claimed the child's life on Monday. And now the mother is in custody.

Neighbor Alicia Sterling wouldn't talk to us on camera, but said her child played with the victim.

"She was about my color with some big eyes," said Sterling.

The two-year-old girl was in CPS custody from birth to the age of one because her mother tested positive for marijuana. The child was returned last year after the mother completed a drug treatment program and the case was closed.

"That hurt me because even though the little girl, I don't know her like that, but that just doesn't make any sense for a two-year-old girl to just...it's sad," said Sterling.

The mother, who is now charged with injury to a child, also has a nine-month-old infant. We're told that child is staying with relatives while the investigation continues.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

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