HARRIS COUNTY – A Houston-area woman has been arrested after authorities say she fatally stabbed her daughter in the neck at a park and wrapped her in plastic and mesh bags.
Melissa White Towne, 37, has been charged with capital murder, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
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Gonzalez Tweeted that the incident happened around noon Sunday at Spring Creek Park in Tomball, a city about 40 minutes northwest of Houston.
It’s unknown how the incident unfolded, but Gonzalez said Towne allegedly cut or stabbed her child at the park and drove her to the hospital.
She requested a wheelchair because “her daughter’s body was hurting,” HCSO told KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston.
Hospital staff found Towne’s 5-year-old daughter in her Jeep Cherokee, partially wrapped in plastic and mesh bags, Gonzalez said.
“The child had what appeared to be a laceration and possible ligature marks on the child’s neck,” he said.
The girl, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead.
Gonzalez said Monday that Towne “admitted to killing her daughter.” She has since been booked into the Harris County Jail.
Arrest update: on 10/16/22, Melissa White Towne (37) drove to a hospital emergency room. Towne’s 5-yr-old daughter was found partially wrapped in plastic and mesh bags, in Towne’s Jeep Cherokee. The child was unresponsive. The child had what appeared to be a laceration and 1/2 https://t.co/g9vw5n4Dnn pic.twitter.com/gvWMKH5Bit
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) October 17, 2022
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