4-Year-Old Girl Found Dead, Weighed Only 15 Pounds, Say Police

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS/WCBS)

NEW YORK (CBS/WCBS) A sickening discovery was made in a Brooklyn home Thursday, as authorities found a four-year-old girl - weighing only 15 pounds - dead, apparently having been tied to a crib.

Neighbors were shocked, not just to hear the young girl was dead, but also that the girl's mother, 30-year-old Carlotta Pierce, was being questioned by police.

"It's hard to imagine that anything criminal happened," one neighbor told CBS affiliate WCBS. "From what I've seen, she couldn't have been a better mother."

When paramedics got to the apartment, it was already too late - they pronounced the girl dead at the scene. However, they saw some things that disturbed them.

Responders told police that they saw marks on the girl's wrist, and twine that seemed to have been tied to her. It wasn't tied when they found her, but it seemed to the paramedics that the twine may have been keeping the girl in place.

It was the mother who called 911. Her daughter, four-year-old Marchella, was born with underdeveloped lungs, and she was extremely fragile.

Detectives questioned Pierce all day Thursday, trying to determine whether what happened was a tragic accident or criminal negligence.

The final answers may not be forthcoming until the autopsy, scheduled to be performed on Friday.

Witnesses say the little girl was so small that the medical examiner's assistant carried her across his arms to the mortuary van.

Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WCBS

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by maccount September 9, 2010 12:14 PM EDT: Why bring children into this world only to have them killed? All they're looking for is a little love, how cold can a person get? God bless this child - at least she's safe now with God!; Reply to this comment


by Wildwood1966 September 7, 2010 3:17 PM EDT: "From what I've seen, she couldn't have been a better mother."

This statement is hard to believe unless the neighbor happens to be blind - sre you could say my daughter is "fragile" or "sick" but somebody saw or heard something - so sad - the Angels do weep and hopefully by now have wrapped her in angel wings - poor thing -; Reply to this comment


by jrnbritt2 September 5, 2010 1:20 AM EDT: It is so sad that often abuse goes unnoticed even when there are people nearby. People need to wake up and do the right thing. If you see someone with a child that looks sickly thin call and report it for Gods sake! Save a life!; Reply to this comment


by luckyturqoise September 4, 2010 7:28 AM EDT: The Angels weep.; Reply to this comment


by formrusmcsgt September 3, 2010 11:09 PM EDT: "From what I've seen, she couldn't have been a better mother."
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How many "good" mothers have children that weigh 1/4 of what they should.

Another tragic case where there's no mention of the father.

Is she a "who's my baby's daddy" kind of woman, perhaps?; Reply to this comment