Thread: Malnourished girl found, 4 yrs. old at 15 pounds.

Malnourished Girl Found Dead in Mother's Home

(Sept. 3) -- New York City authorities are investigating the death of a 4-year-old girl who weighed just 15 pounds when her tiny, malnourished body was found in her mother's Brooklyn apartment.

Detectives found lengths of twine attached to the headboard of a bed inside the home, and the rope was consistent with bruises on Marchella Pierce's ankles, suggesting the little girl might have been tied to the bed, The New York Times and local media reported.

Police were called to Marchella's mother's apartment on Madison Street in the Bushwick neighborhood at about 7:15 a.m. Thursday to investigate a report of an unresponsive child. Officers arrived to find Marchella unconscious on a bed. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her mother, Carlotta Brett-Pierce, 30, allegedly told police she had discovered her daughter at 6:30 a.m. and attempted to resuscitate her. Why she waited nearly an hour to call 911 remains unclear.



Carlotta Brett-Pierce, the mother of 4-year-old Marchella Pierce, is seen in this undated MySpace photo.

Police are investigating the death of Marchella, who weighed just 15 pounds when she was found in her mother's Brooklyn apartment.



An investigation into the child's death is under way, but police are not sharing any details and no arrests have been made. An autopsy was being conducted.

"[It's] an ongoing police investigation, so I'm not going to be able to comment," New York Police Department spokesman Kevin Hayes told AOL News.

Marchella's father, Tyrone Pierce, told the New York Daily News that his estranged wife is a "wonderful mother."

"I've never seen her hurt her kids," he said.

Brett-Pierce has two other children, ages 6 years and 9 months. A MySpace page in her name describes her as a "proud parent."

Pierce told the newspaper that his daughter -- who weighed only 15 pounds at the time of her death -- had been born with underdeveloped lungs. Doctors inserted a tube in her trachea to help her breathe. She had been in hospitals for much of her life, the father said.

When asked about the twine that was allegedly found on the headboard, Pierce said he had never witnessed his daughter being restrained. "Maybe it was to hold the bed together," he said.

According to the New York Post, Brett-Pierce has been the subject of two probes by the Administration for Children's Services, and a private child development company had been hired by ACS to work with the family.

Calls made to ACS by AOL News on Friday were not returned.

"We don't yet know all the facts in this case, but we will get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible, and we'll take every appropriate action as quickly as possible," John B. Mattingly, the commissioner of children's services, said in the statement obtained by the Times.

The private child development company no longer works with ACS. A city source told The Associated Press that the company had failed to meet with the family two to three times per week, as required.

Brett-Pierce's other children are in ACS custody pending the outcome of the investigation into Marchella's death.

The Post also reported that investigators served a search warrant on Brett-Pierce's apartment Thursday night, during which narcotics were allegedly found. There was no word on whether authorities planned to filed any charges.

this story is terribly sad, and it is unfortunate that it has had to happen before.