A 5-year-old Rome, Georgia girl has died of blunt force trauma injuries. The child’s mother was arrested and charged with child cruelty, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
An autopsy at the GBI Crime Lab in Atlanta revealed Heaven Woods died of blunt force trauma to her abdomen. Heaven’s mother, Amanda Hendrickson, 33, and her boyfriend, Roderick Buckner, 34, with whom Heaven and her mother had been living, was also arrested.
Hendrickson is charged with felony child cruelty in the first degree and giving false statements, and additional charges are expected, according to the AJC.
Buckner also faces first degree felony child cruelty charges, and additional charges could be added.
The Georgia Department of Family and Children Services was familiar with Heaven’s mother. The GBI said DFACs had a “history” with Hendrickson in Rome.
From AJC.com:
eaven was found unresponsive in Buckner’s the Forsyth home Tuesday, where girl and her mother had been living since May, according to the release. Monroe County 911 received two calls about 8:51 a.m. referencing an unresponsive child at Buckner’s Brookwood Drive residence.
Hendrickson told Forsyth police Heaven had been staying with a friend in Rome, and was sick when she returned to Forsyth Monday night, according to the incident report from Forsyth police officers.
First responders performed CPR on the girl and told police Heaven’s body had “visible evidence of possible abuse,” according to the report.
The young girl was transported to Monroe County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the GBI release.