Police officials released a statement, saying that the 30-year-old Iesha, responsible for caring for her friend’s 3-year-old daughter, Harmoni, was arrested and charged with murder and first-degree child abuse. This came after an emergency call earlier this month reported an unresponsive child.
Responding officers found Iesha, who had been babysitting Harmoni, and rushed the girl to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed blunt force trauma as the cause of death, inflicted by Iesha who allegedly slammed Harmoni’s head into a bathtub.
The girl’s mother disclosed to investigators that Harmoni was autistic and nonverbal, and that Iesha, frustrated, had slammed her daughter’s head against the tub. It’s believed Iesha was responsible for the girls for the night, during which she locked them in a room for hours while she smoked drugs. Upon returning, finding Harmoni vomited on herself, Iesha poured boiling water on her head and hit her against the bathtub, resulting in her death.
When the mother inquired about her daughter, Iesha falsely claimed she fell down stairs but was fine. However, upon the mother’s arrival the next morning, Harmoni was found unresponsive.
