Denise Johnson allegedly beat her granddaughter and let her die on a bed in an apartment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Picture: Allegheny County Jail)
A grandmother allegedly beat her 3-year-old granddaughter ‘for not listening’ and left her to die on a bed.
Denise Johnson, 56, was arrested on Monday, a day after her granddaughter Ayla Lyric-Ann Miller was discovered dead on a bloody bed at the Allegheny Commons apartments, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
Ayla had bruises on her cheekbone, under her eye, around her ears and by her chest, stated the court document. She had an infected wound on her right ankle, a cigarette burn on her left ankle and an injured left hip bone. The girl wearing a skirt and tights also had a scar or scratch on her sternum.
The girl’s uncle called 911 on Sunday when her skin felt cold and she was pronounced dead shortly before noon at the apartment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A criminal complaint in the arrest of Denise Johnson, who allegedly beat her granddaughter and left her to die on a bed (Picture: Law&Crime)
‘Ayla was taken way too soon,’ states a GoFundMe page.
‘She loved Cocomelon and Minnie Mouse. Her smile would lighten up any room. Ayla will truly be missed; her short time on earth impacted a lot of lives.’
Investigators found out that Ayla had been living with her grandma for about a month-and-a-half following her mother’s home losing electricity.
The grandma admitted to her sister that she had punched Ayla in the face, causing the girl to fall back and hit her head on a coffee table, stated the affidavit.
‘Johnson then picked Miller up off the ground and didn’t know what to do,’ it stated, based on the sister’s account. ‘Johnson then stated she placed Ayla Miller into a bed for the next few days until the death of Ayla Miller was discovered.’
The grandma later wrote in a text message to a detective: ‘Ok I’ll ready soon I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to hurt her I truly didn’t when I knew she was hurt I beat her butt for not listening and she fell into my table so hard.’
Johnson has been charged with a count of first-degree criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and a count each of endangering the welfare of a child, abusing a corpse and corrupting minors.
She was booked into Allegheny County Jail.
The GoFundMe page had raised $80 as of Thursday evening.
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