Police: Girl, 2, dies after she was burned and beaten by caregiver

Police in the Fort Worth area say a 2-year-old girl died after a caregiver hit her with a belt and burned her buttocks for discipline.

Police were called to an apartment in Arlington early Saturday because a child wasn’t breathing. Aniyah Darnell was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

An affidavit says Shamonica Page admitted she repeatedly struck Aniyah and that she didn’t seek medical help for the burn. She told police she had been caring for Aniyah since August for the girl’s mother. Her precise relationship to Aniyah is unclear.

Page is charged with injury to a child. Jail records don’t list an attorney for her. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports police also charged a man in connection to the child’s death.

Two other children in the home have been placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

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