A Decatur, Illinois man admitted inflicting the injuries that caused his 4-year-old daughter’s death on Aug. 31.
Police say 29-year-old Darrell A. Reynolds admitted whipping Amarrah C. Reynolds with a belt.
The toddler was pronounced dead after she was transported to an emergency room unresponsive with her body covered in bruises, scabs and old injuries.
Reynolds appeared Thursday in a Macon County courthouse, where he was arraigned. He faces a first-degree murder charge that carries a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. He is being held in jail without bond.
Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office charge that Amarrah’s death “resulted from exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty.”
Police say Reynolds admitted abusing the child for at least 2 years.
“I just killed my daughter,” he told investigators during an interview, according to The Herald & Review newspaper in Decatur.
Amarrah’s mother appeared in court on Friday to answer charges of willful neglect child abuse.
Let this be a warning to the few of you who still beat your children.
Remember, violence begets violence. We continue the cycle of violence in the black community when we teach our children that the only way to correct a child’s behavior is through abuse.
Teach your children to love, not hate.
