Mom Allegedly Killed Daughter, 5, by Pushing Her Down Stairs After Threatening Her with 'Boogey Man'
A Pennsylvania mother has been charged with third-degree murder after police allege she pushed her five-year-old daughter down the basement stairs on Halloween night, PEOPLE confirms.
Ciara Robinson, 25, is also charged with voluntary and involuntary manslaughter as well as aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child in the death of Amatulah “Amy” McLaughlin.
“This little girl was severely abused, culminating in her death,” Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “No child should have to live like this. Our hearts are broken by the death of an innocent child.”
Authorities said Amy’s autopsy indicated she had been severely beaten over a period of time and had extensive bruises, scars, puncture wounds and strike marks over her legs, arms and back.
At approximately 9:35 p.m. on October 31, paramedics and police were called to Robinson’s Parkesburg home where they found the toddler not breathing and without a pulse, indicating she had been dead for a while.
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According to the statement, Robinson allegedly became angry with the girl, hit her and then intentionally shoved her down basement stairs that were 8 to 9 feet high. The child struck her head on the concrete floor below.
The statement alleges that Robinson subsequently told a friend, “I knocked [the victim] out… She won’t wake up… I am going to jail.”
The coroner ruled that Amy died of blunt force trauma to the head, which resulted in an acute subdural hematoma and a swollen brain.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC Philadelphia, Robinson, while in a holding cell, allegedly shouted, “I wish I never pushed her down the [expletive] steps,” and then added, “I shouldn’t have pushed her.”
According to the complaint, Robinson allegedly confessed that she had become angry with the girl that night and had punched and slapped her. She also told police that she had threatened her daughter about putting her in the basement with the “Boogey Man” but said her daughter fell down the stairs after that, the complaint alleges.
Robinson told police she carried her daughter up the stairs and then Amy walked to her room and fell asleep, the complaint alleges. The complaint states Robinson said she checked on Amy and attempted to wake her up at one point by throwing water on her face.
It was not immediately clear if she has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
