The mother of a 6-year-old girl who wandered into a Holladay home cold, hungry and bruised has been charged with child abuse.
Lezlee Susan Magee, 40, was arrested and booked into jail Friday, Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy Peggy Faulkner said. She is facing one count of child abuse, a second-degree felony, punishable up to 15 years in prison.Magee, who is listed on court documents as a transient, was arrested near her mother's Salt Lake home.
She is accused of beating her daughter, Kayla, with a coat hanger and starving the child. On March 10, the girl got tired of the abuse and ran away, she told investigators.
"She said she was left alone in the van and then decided to run away because she was cold and hungry, and her mother had been beating her with a coat hanger," court documents state.
Kayla walked into the home of Debra Carlson in Holladay and asked for something to eat. Carlson called police and said the girl had bruises on her back arms and legs. Magee, who has three other children, was in the area with the girl to get food from an LDS bishop, according to court documents.
Kayla was taken into state custody. The girl told social workers she did not want to go home. She said her grandmother also beat her with a coat hanger.
"That's still under investigation," Faulkner said. "We're far from through on this one. We want to find the other kids and make sure they're OK."
Doctors, who examined Kayla at Primary Children's Medical Center, said her injuries were likely caused by a wire coat hanger. It appeared the girl had been abused over a long period, according to the charged filed Friday in 3rd District Court.
Magee has three other children, boys who are 2, 5 and 9 years old, Faulkner said. A juvenile judge has issued a pickup order on the boys, but Magee is trying to prevent authorities from finding them.
"We took her to the office (after the arrest) and tried to talk to her about the other kids," Faulkner said. "She told us they were out of state but refused to tell us where."
Kayla's father is dead, Faulkner said. Investigators are not sure where the father or fathers of the other boys are.
Magee remained in jail Friday night with bail set at $50,000.