Kristen Marie DePasquale, from Florida, allegedly blamed her 1 year old daughter’s death on her 2 year old son after the 1 year old died from being strangled with a string of Halloween lights.
DePasquale was charged with first-degree murder and child neglect after the investigation unfolded and detectives on case discovered there were multiple inconsistencies in DePasquale’s statements, according to a news release from police in Oveido, Florida.
She was arrestedbut has pleaded not guilty and is “very sad,” her attorney says. The motive still remains unclear.
According to investigation and court documents, the woman told the authorities that she left her daughter, Mia Rice, in the living room with her 2-year-old son while she took a five-minute shower. She then claimed that she left the shower when she heard her son saying he was sorry for hurting his sister — and that’s when she found her daughter partially hanging from a string of pumpkin-shaped lights that were around her neck.
She then called 911 and responding officers attempted to revive the little girl, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
DePasquale blamed her son for the crime, and Mia was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Oviedo police detective Christopher George said in the investigation report that there were inconsistencies from the woman’s alibi, including the fact that the shower was dry, and that DePasquale was wearing makeup and jewelry, according to the Sentinel. The towel she had claimed to use after exiting the shower was also dry. The medical examiner ruled the girl’s cause of death was homicide by strangulation and said it would have taken several minutes for her to be killed and that the marks on Mia’s neck showed more force than a 2-year-old child could do.
DePasquale was ordered held without bond at the Seminole County Jail in Florida, her public defender, Timothy Caudill, confirms that the woman has pleaded not guilty to the crime.
The 2-year-old son is in the care of family as thhe children’s father is also in jail on unrelated charges.
