Post by dawn on Aug 6, 2010 9:00:38 GMT -5
A 9-year-old girl whose body was found in the basement of a vacant Colorado house may have been beaten and allowed to linger near death for two days before possibly being buried alive, according to an arrest affidavit.
Monique Lynch, 29, the girlfriend of the girl's father, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the girl's death. .
Lynch and Hanif Sims, 29, the girl's father, were also charged with child abuse resulting in death, concealing a body and tampering with evidence.
The couple, who appeared in El Paso County District Court on Wednesday, were arrested last month in Henderson, Nev.
They were wanted by police after the body of Sims' daughter, Genesis, was found May 14 buried in the crawl space of a townhome in Monument, about 50 miles south of Denver.
Construction workers installing a sump pump in the home made the grisly discovery.
The couple left Colorado in early 2009, authorities said.
During a July 7 jailhouse interview, Hanif Sims told detectives Lynch beat Genesis with a belt in December 2008 because the girl soiled herself, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the El Paso County sheriff's investigators.
The father said he told Lynch to stop because she had disciplined Genesis enough, the affidavit said. Lynch then took the girl upstairs to clean her up.
Sims said he went out for a half hour to pick up some cigarettes.
Sims said when he returned he found "Genesis was dead in the bathtub." Lynch was also in the bathroom, the affidavit said.
Investigators asked Sims if he thought Lynch was responsible for the girl's death, and he nodded his head "yes," the affidavit said.
During a second interview, the father added to his account.
He told investigators he found Genesis in the tub with Lynch yelling at the child to "get her a-- up and quit faking," the affidavit said.
Sims said he carried his daughter to a bed and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, because she didn’t appear to be breathing, the affidavit said.
He said this appeared to revive Genesis, but her breathing was shallow, the affidavit said.
The father said he told Lynch to call 911, but the girlfriend refused. Lynch said she was pregnant and had an outstanding warrant and didn't want to go to jail, the affidavit said.
Sims told detectives he believed if his daughter had been given medical treatment, "Genesis would be alive today," the affidavit said.
After watching the girl breathing shallowly on the bed for two days, the father said Lynch slid the girl into a multicolored laundry bag and placed that bag in a black trash bag, the affidavit said.
Sims said he and Lynch then dug a whole in the basement crawl space and buried the girl there, the affidavit said.
"Hanif Sims never provided that the victim stopped her shallow breathing prior to being placed in the bag and buried," the affidavit said.
Yet, Lynch told investigators she never abused the couple's children and did not even spank them, the affidavit said.
While the couple was still wanted by police, they called KRDO-TV reporter Tak Landrock on July 5 and denied killing the girl.
Lynch said she found the girl lying in the running shower after the couple returned home from dropping by a neighbor's house for about 10 minutes.
"She wasn't under no water or nothing like that. The shower was still running and she was just lying there," Lynch said.
"If she slipped in the tub, I would've saw something --- a knot or something. I didn't see anything. All I saw was Genesis lifeless," Lynch added.
The girlfriend said the stunned couple stared at the dead child's body, lying on the bed for two days. They then buried her in the basement with flowers and prayers, she told the television station.
Asked why they didn't call 911, Lynch said she distrusted Monument police, saying they had treated the couple unfairly in the past.
I don't want to be labeled as no murderer," Lynch told KRDO-TV.
Monument neighbors told police they had witnesses both Sims and Lynch physically abuse Genesis, the affidavit said..
After the girl disappeared, neighbors told investigators the couple said Genesis had been sent to live with her biological mother in New Jersey, the affidavit said.
But the girl's biological mother, Jopetia Garretson, told investigators she had not heard from Genesis since Sims and Lynch took her daughter to Colorado in 2008.
Lynch and Sims are each being held on $500,000 bond in the El Paso County jail.
Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said prosecutors will ask that Lynch be held without bond.
Their next court date is Aug. 12.
Monique Lynch, 29, the girlfriend of the girl's father, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the girl's death. .
Lynch and Hanif Sims, 29, the girl's father, were also charged with child abuse resulting in death, concealing a body and tampering with evidence.
The couple, who appeared in El Paso County District Court on Wednesday, were arrested last month in Henderson, Nev.
They were wanted by police after the body of Sims' daughter, Genesis, was found May 14 buried in the crawl space of a townhome in Monument, about 50 miles south of Denver.
Construction workers installing a sump pump in the home made the grisly discovery.
The couple left Colorado in early 2009, authorities said.
During a July 7 jailhouse interview, Hanif Sims told detectives Lynch beat Genesis with a belt in December 2008 because the girl soiled herself, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the El Paso County sheriff's investigators.
The father said he told Lynch to stop because she had disciplined Genesis enough, the affidavit said. Lynch then took the girl upstairs to clean her up.
Sims said he went out for a half hour to pick up some cigarettes.
Sims said when he returned he found "Genesis was dead in the bathtub." Lynch was also in the bathroom, the affidavit said.
Investigators asked Sims if he thought Lynch was responsible for the girl's death, and he nodded his head "yes," the affidavit said.
During a second interview, the father added to his account.
He told investigators he found Genesis in the tub with Lynch yelling at the child to "get her a-- up and quit faking," the affidavit said.
Sims said he carried his daughter to a bed and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, because she didn’t appear to be breathing, the affidavit said.
He said this appeared to revive Genesis, but her breathing was shallow, the affidavit said.
The father said he told Lynch to call 911, but the girlfriend refused. Lynch said she was pregnant and had an outstanding warrant and didn't want to go to jail, the affidavit said.
Sims told detectives he believed if his daughter had been given medical treatment, "Genesis would be alive today," the affidavit said.
After watching the girl breathing shallowly on the bed for two days, the father said Lynch slid the girl into a multicolored laundry bag and placed that bag in a black trash bag, the affidavit said.
Sims said he and Lynch then dug a whole in the basement crawl space and buried the girl there, the affidavit said.
"Hanif Sims never provided that the victim stopped her shallow breathing prior to being placed in the bag and buried," the affidavit said.
Yet, Lynch told investigators she never abused the couple's children and did not even spank them, the affidavit said.
While the couple was still wanted by police, they called KRDO-TV reporter Tak Landrock on July 5 and denied killing the girl.
Lynch said she found the girl lying in the running shower after the couple returned home from dropping by a neighbor's house for about 10 minutes.
"She wasn't under no water or nothing like that. The shower was still running and she was just lying there," Lynch said.
"If she slipped in the tub, I would've saw something --- a knot or something. I didn't see anything. All I saw was Genesis lifeless," Lynch added.
The girlfriend said the stunned couple stared at the dead child's body, lying on the bed for two days. They then buried her in the basement with flowers and prayers, she told the television station.
Asked why they didn't call 911, Lynch said she distrusted Monument police, saying they had treated the couple unfairly in the past.
I don't want to be labeled as no murderer," Lynch told KRDO-TV.
Monument neighbors told police they had witnesses both Sims and Lynch physically abuse Genesis, the affidavit said..
After the girl disappeared, neighbors told investigators the couple said Genesis had been sent to live with her biological mother in New Jersey, the affidavit said.
But the girl's biological mother, Jopetia Garretson, told investigators she had not heard from Genesis since Sims and Lynch took her daughter to Colorado in 2008.
Lynch and Sims are each being held on $500,000 bond in the El Paso County jail.
Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said prosecutors will ask that Lynch be held without bond.
Their next court date is Aug. 12.
www.thedenverchannel.com/news/24524227/detail.html