4-year-old’s mom pleads guilty after daughter found buried in backyard

WSOCTV.com News Staff,Hunter Sáenz
·3 min read
20

A 4-year-old’s mom pleaded guilty in court Thursday after her daughter’s body was found buried in her northwest Charlotte backyard.

Investigators said 4-year-old Majelic Young’s body was found in a shallow grave in the backyard of a home on Braden Drive in May 2021. The coroner said she’d been dead for months and they couldn’t determine how she died.

Police believe her mom, Malikah Diane Bennett, killed her in 2020.

Bennett was charged with first-degree murder, felony child abuse, inflicting physical injury and felony concealing a death. In court Friday, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

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According to a search warrant, Majelic’s 13-year-old sister told detectives that in August 2020, Majelic was forced to stand in the laundry room as punishment and was not allowed to sit down or leave. She stood there for three days, getting so weak that she fell out of the back door, hitting her head on the ground. Majelic’s sister told police that was the day Majelic died.

The sister said Bennett put Majelic’s body in a bag and put it in her car for days. She told police that Bennett dug a hole and had her help put Majelic’s body in it and cover her with dirt.

‘You think you broke me, but you broke yourself’

On Thursday, Bennett entered the courtroom in handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit, which is an outfit she’ll be wearing for at least 25 years after taking a plea deal.

Magelic’s family isn’t pleased with the plea deal.

“She deserved them 100 years with life, without parole. She deserved it,” said the little girl’s aunt, Shamekia Wade.

Under the plea deal, Bennett was sentenced to 25 to 31 years in prison for killing Majelic, whose family called her Jellie.

“She was very smart, she loved her family, her cousins. She always talked about her daddy,” Wade said.

Investigators said 4-year-old Majelic Young’s body was found in a shallow grave in the backyard of a home on Braden Drive in May 2021. The coroner said she’d been dead for months and they couldn’t determine how she died. Police believe her mom, Malikah Diane Bennett, killed her in 2020.
Investigators said 4-year-old Majelic Young’s body was found in a shallow grave in the backyard of a home on Braden Drive in May 2021. The coroner said she’d been dead for months and they couldn’t determine how she died. Police believe her mom, Malikah Diane Bennett, killed her in 2020.

“She used to come in my room asking for lip gloss. She loved looking pretty, loved getting her hair done,” said Jellie’s cousin, Jazzmine Smith.

An innocent child was taken far too soon and a family is hurting all over again, saying Jellie was robbed of her life -- and now, her justice.

“My niece was robbed of her time, so why do you even get a chance to walk out the doors again?” Wade said.

Jellie’s father spoke up in court, telling Bennett, “You think you broke me, but you broke yourself.”

Jellie’s grandmother, Tammy Taylor Moffett, was also charged for her involvement in the crime. Moffett was charged with concealing a death and accessory after the fact of murder.

Moffett pleaded not guilty to her charges in June. She had been offered a deal that would come with a five-year sentence.

(WATCH PREVIOUS: The Majelic Young case: Recognizing signs of abuse)