A Pensacola, Florida woman was arrested after she suffocated her nine-year-old niece by sitting on her as punishment. Veronica Green Posey, 64, pictured above, was charged with cruelty toward a child and homicide, according to the Daily Mail UK.
Medics responding to an emergency call at 1:30 p.m. Saturday found Dericka Lindsay unresponsive. Dericka was rushed to Baptist Hospital, where she died.
Police also arrested Dericka’s parents, Grace Joan Smith, 69, left, and James Edmund Smith, 62, right. They were charged with child neglect and child abuse. Grace was also charged with cruelty to a child.
Posey is listed in the police report as the Smiths’ niece. She told investigators that she sat on Dericka because the child was “out of control.”
Posey, who weighs 325 lbs, said she sat on the little girl for 10 minutes until she stopped talking. The woman sat on Dericka for 2 more minutes before she stood up. Dericka was not moving when Posey got up.
The Florida Department of Children and Families already has an active file on the Smith family for earlier incidents in the home.
DCF is also investigating the child’s death.
“As the family has a prior interaction with the child welfare system, a thorough quality assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interactions this family has had with the child welfare system,” said Mike Carroll, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
