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Little girl's body found in plastic bin

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Word of youngster's death shocks family ::

Flint police make a terrible discovery ::

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Gabe Gutierrez
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GENESEE COUNTY (WJRT) -- (04/22/09)--Flint police have found a nine-year-old quadriplegic girl dead in a storage unit.

Investigators believe Shylea Thomas, 9, had been missing for at least six weeks.

The body was found Wednesday morning in a public storage facility at the corner of Saginaw and Frances roads in Vienna Township.

The girl's adoptive mother is in custody. Prosecutors are waiting for autopsy results before charging the 39-year-old Flint woman.

ABC12 is not releasing her name pending formal charges.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said the woman could face a slew of charges, including felony murder, first-degree child abuse and welfare fraud.

Shylea Thomas had been living with her adoptive mother for several years at their home on East Pierson Road in Flint.

A relative called the Department of Human Services Tuesday afternoon and reported the girl missing.

Police found her around 4 a.m. Wednesday at the storage facility. Leyton said she was wrapped in a garbage bag inside a large plastic tub. She appeared to have been dead for at least six weeks.

"It's extremely sad," Leyton said. "This is was a quadriplegic child who, we believe, did not have a high quality of life."

DHS did not have any open cases involving Shylea, Leyton said. The seven other children in the home have been put in protective services.

Leyton said the girl had health problems since an early age when she was somehow suffocated in her crib, causing her to lose the use of her arms and legs.

At that point, Leyton said, her biological mother lost custody of the child. Different family members took care of her in the years that followed. Relatives told ABC12 that the girl's aunt eventually adopted her.

"She was a lovable baby," said Fred Thomas, the girl's uncle who learned of her death Wednesday morning. "I cried for a long time. I really don't know what happened."

Family members would not discuss what role -- if any -- Shylea's adoptive mother may have played in her death. They just wanted to remember a young girl who loved music.

"She was the type of baby that always kept a smile on her face," said Josette Thomas, the girl's second cousin.