A 4-year-old Philadelphia girl endured “horrific” abuse and was “killed brutally” by the person her mother trusted to care for the young child, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Samilya Brown, 38, was charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child and related charges in the Oct. 30 death of Zya Singleton, according to the DA’s office.
Brown originally told officials that Singleton accidentally fell out of a second-floor window in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood while playing with a cat.
“That’s not the truth,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Tuesday. “The truth is that this child was killed, and killed brutally, and was abused for an extensive period of time.”
The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office found bite marks, cigarette burns and open wounds on her face and scalp. She also had puncture wounds throughout her body and showed signs of being malnourished.