A 4-year-old girl who allegedly starved to death in a crib as her mother cared for six other children weighed just 151/2 pounds when she died, the medical examiner said.
"You would expect a normal 1-year-old to be heavier than this," Dr. Charles Hirsch said Wednesday. The average 4-year-old girl weighs 35 pounds, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.The autopsy found that the girl, Nadine Lockwood, died from malnutrition and dehydration caused by starvation, Hirsch said. Police found her dead in her apartment Saturday.
The child's mother, 32-year-old Carla Lockwood, is charged with second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a minor.
She said in a videotaped confession that she had not fed Nadine regularly for a year and did not seek medical help even when she realized the girl was dying. She said she did it because she didn't want or love Nadine, court papers showed.
Lockwood remained hospitalized Wednesday for psychiatric observation and treatment of a possible tubal pregnancy.