Two babysitters are behind bars, accused of fatally beating a one-year-old Tennesse girl on Saturday.
Action News 5 reports that infant Kali Moore’s aunt, Kiya Moore, 21. and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Dejon Smith, faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated child neglect.
An arrest affidavit reportedly indicated that police received a call at 3 a.m. on Saturday regarding a child in cardiac arrest at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. According to the affidavit, the baby was declared dead an hour later.
The suspects allegedly provided investigators with contradictory accounts, each pointing the finger at the other for the child’s death, according to the affidavit, Fox 13 reports.
The affidavit stated that Smith and Kiya Moore had been babysitting from around 5:00 p.m. Thursday, until a little before 2:40 a.m.
Kiya Moore told police she left the residence, leaving Smith in charge of the infant. When she returned, she found Kali Moore unresponsive, the affidavit stated.
Moore said Smith refused to explain what happened and instead instructed her to tell police that she had fallen asleep holding Kali, who then fell off the bed and struck her head on the nightstand.
Moore then contacted a family member to take Kali to the hospital.
In his statement to police, Smith claimed that he heard Kiya Moore yelling in the back room while Kali was crying. He said he then heard Moore slam the baby against the floor, walls, and wooden furniture around six and ten times.
Smith said he tried to perform CPR and used cold water to revive Kali before the family member took the infant to the hospital.
An examination at the hospital revealed that Kali had multiple skull fractures with a brain bleed, a bruised kidney, and elevated liver enzymes consistent with abdominal trauma.
She also had blood in her lungs, according to the affidavit.
“We’ve never had to deal with a situation like this, so we really don’t know how,” Margaret Calicott, Kali’s great-grandmother, told Action News 5.
Kiya Moore was already facing an aggravated child abuse charge from an incident in February 2022.
Both suspects remain behind bars without bail. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Phot: Family Handout]
