NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — The couple said the 9-year-old girl was walking the dog when they heard tires screeching and a crash, and they found the girl near the shed.
But Gloucester County prosecutors say 27-year-old India Miller and 45-year-old Sean Scott actually beat Miller’s daughter to death.
Investigators say they found the child’s blood on bathroom tiles inside along with bloody clothes and a mop with her blood. Doctors at the hospital said the cuts and bruises on her face and body were not consistent with a car crash. And nearby surveillance cameras didn’t show any traffic in the area in the hours before 1 a.m., when police arrived.
The victim’s 4-year-old sister told police that Scott, their stepfather, hit the victim in the face and eyes.
An autopsy found the child had multiple broken ribs and other injuries in various stages of recovery, suggesting the abuse had been ongoing, and abrasions on her “inner thigh and intimate parts.” The medical examiner also reported a ruptured colon, indicative of blunt force trauma, and that her left eye was swollen shut.
Both Miller and Scott are being held at Salem County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and several other offenses.
