Leslie Denise Wilson (Etowah County Jail).
An Alabama woman is accused of ignoring her 12-year-old daughter for more than a month as the medically vulnerable girl withered away and died of sepsis with live maggots in her diaper.
Leslie Denise Wilson, 35, is facing a murder charge, jail records say.
A criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WBRC said the girl was subjected to "ongoing and extreme medical and/or physical neglect causing serious physical injury" from May 1 until her death on June 17.
Police in Gadsden, which is some 60 miles northeast of Birmingham, were called to the girl's home for what was initially described as a natural death.
But according to court testimony by a Gadsden police officer during an Aniah's Law hearing on Tuesday, the death was anything but natural. Aniah's Law allows judges to deny bonds for defendants accused of certain violent crimes.
Det. Alec Burgess described to the court the dire condition in which he found the girl, who had cerebral palsy and relied on a feeding tube, a courtroom report by WBRC stated.
The girl, who has not been identified, had marks on her body and weighed just 32 pounds, Burgess reportedly testified. The average weight for a 12-year-old girl is about 92 pounds.
She also had live maggots in her diaper, per cops. Burgess reportedly testified the girl had pneumonia, and was malnourished and dehydrated at the time of her death.
Wilson allegedly told the girl's siblings to take care of her, but there was not enough food in the home.
Records show Wilson was booked into the Etowah County Jail on Monday. She remains in jail without bond. Her next court date was not immediately listed.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources also is investigating the case.
Comments