Autopsy: Fayetteville girl died from malnutrition, abuse
A 3-year-old Fayetteville girl died of pneumonia after suffering malnutrition, neglect and sexual abuse, according to an autopsy report released Monday.
Posted — UpdatedJourdin A'Legacy Smith died at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center after authorities received a report of an unresponsive child at 520 Regency Drive on Dec. 1, 2015.
Her parents, Jamarkus Meshawn Smith, 26, and Octavia Bennett-Smith, 27, were charged with first-degree murder after detectives received the girl's autopsy report from the medical examiner, which ruled the death as a homicide, officials said. Smith was already in custody under a $3 million bond, and Bennett-Smith was arrested at her residence and is being held without bond.
Jamarkus Smith was previously charged with two counts of first-degree statutory sexual offense, two counts of indecent liberties with a child and felony child abuse, according to previous reports.
The couple’s arrest prompted police to review a child death investigation from February 2014 that occurred at the home and involved the same parents. That death was initially ruled to be a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
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