TOMBALL, Texas – More details are being released in the murder of a 5-year-old girl who was said to have been brutally stabbed to death by her mother in October of 2022.
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The child’s mother, who has been identified by authorities as Melissa Towne, 37, claims she stabbed her child in the neck at Spring Creek Park, located in the 15000 block of Brown Road in the Tomball area, on Oct. 16, 2022.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office accepted a charge of capital murder against Towne and she was booked into the Harris County Jail.
Her bond was set at $15 million.
Gruesome details
According to authorities, Towne took her daughter to the park, walked towards the woods, got the child on her knees, and slit her throat, but the girl didn’t immediately die.
The report stated that the child reportedly began screaming, “I’ve been good,” to her mother while making “a great effort to stay alive.”
Investigators said Towne told her daughter, “Stop fighting it.”
The mother then allegedly placed a plastic bag over her daughter’s head and sat on the child to suffocate her until her body became lifeless.
Harris County sheriff’s deputies said Towne then drove to the emergency room of the HCA Tomball Hospital. Towne asked hospital personnel for a wheelchair because “her daughter’s body was hurting,” HCSO’s report states.
According to investigators, an emergency room nurse walked to Towne’s Jeep Cherokee, where she found the 5-year-old’s body partially wrapped in plastic and mesh bags. Deputies said the child was unresponsive and a laceration was visible on her neck.
The child was then pronounced dead.
Court documents showed that, prior to the incident, Towne had believed that her child was evil and stated that she “didn’t want to deal with her anymore,” even comparing her to the “Chuckie” doll featured in horror films.
Officers with the Tomball Police Department were called to the hospital and detained Towne.
She was then taken to the HCSO Homicide Unit, where investigators said she provided a statement and admitted to intentionally killing her daughter.
Child Fatality Report released to the public
A Child Fatality Report was released to the public, which showed that Child Protective Services had been involved with Towne multiple times and there was an open investigation on her prior to her daughter’s death.
According to the report, the deceased child was living with her father and Towne. On the day she was killed, the girl was left alone in the care of her mother, who reportedly had serious emotional and mental health issues.
Towne has three additional children, ranging in age from 2 years old to 18 years old.
The report shows that Towne’s other younger children were safe with a different man, said to be their father, who had the support of his family to care for the siblings. Towne did not have access to those children.
According to the report, Towne’s other two children were being raised by other relatives and also did not have contact with their mother.
The investigation also found that Towne and the 5-year-old’s father committed neglectful supervision of the girl.
Previous allegations and investigation
The Child Fatality Report shows that CPS was notified about the 5-year-old being covered in scars and insect bites. She also reportedly had wounds from scratching the infected bites, which were believed to have led to the scarring.
According to the report, the girl allegedly smelled of urine and was still wearing pull-up diapers. The child was not enrolled in a school but was described as a smart child by investigators.
The father did admit that he worked and would occasionally leave his daughter with a babysitter that he met over social media.
The department stated that it was unable to confirm if the father committed medical neglect or physical neglect of the child at that time.