Inset left to right: Susan Robinson, Tonya McKnight, and Tery'n McKnight (Mecklenburg County Sheriff Office). Background: The North Carolina home where 6-year-old Dominique Moody was severely abused and killed (Google Maps).
Three women in North Carolina have been charged with murder months after child abuse and torture left a 6-year-old girl dead, according to law enforcement in the Tar Heel State.
As of this week, Susan Robinson, 61, Tonya McKnight, 51, and Tery'n McKnight, 22, stand accused of murder in the first degree over the Dec. 16, 2025, death of 6-year-old Dominique Moody.
The trio was originally arrested over the course of several days late last year on one count of intentional child abuse resulting in serious physical injury and four counts of misdemeanor child abuse.
On the morning in question, police received a call saying the girl was not breathing, according to an affidavit for criminal charges obtained by Law&Crime. Dominique would soon be pronounced dead.
"The victim's hair, nails, and body were dirty," police wrote in the charging document. "She had open wounds and scarring in various stages of healing covering most of her body."
Officers say Tonya McKnight is responsible for duct-taping and wrapping the child in plastic wrap – abuse allegedly captured on cellphone images. The woman allegedly starved the little girl for over a year as "punishment for many things," including eating food in the house, according to law enforcement.
Many allegations are sourced to Robinson.
The charging document reads, at length:
She suggested that Dominique Moody is forced to watch them eat, and Tonya McKnight does not feed her every day, even though the house has plenty of food. She also advised that Dominique Moody is forced to sit in her soiled, urine and feces-filled diaper for days and days. This caused the extreme rash on Dominique's genitals and buttocks. This abuse/neglect was reported to have occurred for approximately 1.5 years.
At the time of her death, Dominique only weighed 27 pounds.
The girl had also been "forced to stay in a dog crate in the living room" before staying on "the feces-filled bathroom floor," police said.
The oldest defendant, along with the youngest – who is Tonya McKnight's daughter – are both accused of "failure to take any action to remedy the problems caused by Tonya McKnight." All three woman lived in the house on Gwynne Hill Road in Charlotte along with four other children between the ages of 5, 4, 2, and 1, authorities say. The placement and condition of the other children is not yet a matter of public record.
"The unkempt and inhospitable state of the residence, the children residing amongst rats and cockroaches, the children being bitten by rats, the residence's daily lack of heat, and the duct taping are well known to all three individuals," the affidavit alleges.
It was also cold in the house.
According to police, the oven in the kitchen, a space heater in the living room and a space heater in a bedroom were the only sources of heat for the children. The space heater in the living room sat on a concrete block on the floor, pointed toward a cot in front of a couch.
"The low temperature during overnight hours was 20 degrees," the affidavit reads.
Some of the other children said Dominque was placed in front of the stove to warm her up "and bring her back to life," according to court documents obtained by Charlotte-based CBS affiliate WBTV.
Robinson and Tonya McKnight also allegedly exchanged messages after Dominique's death, acknowledging they were "in trouble" and needed to clean up the house, according to another affidavit filed in the case and obtained by Charlotte-based NBC affiliate WCNC.
"The victim was extremely small," one affidavit reads. "She had a healed ligature mark going all the way around her right ankle and linear healed scars on top of her right arm. On top of her right foot and outer right leg were healed circular scars. The victim had an open circular wound on the outer left ankle, which appeared to be a burn. She had various minor open wounds on her knees, face, arms, and legs."
An examination of Dominique's body showed a "fracture to the right pinky toe, which was older and healed," according to police. She also had multiple lower rib fractures on both sides of her body.
On Thursday, Mecklenburg District Court Judge Cecilia Oseguera denied bond for all three women. They are being detained in the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Chris Perez contributed to this report.