North Carolina Stepmom Pleads Guilty to Disabled Girl’s Murder

A 43-year-old stepmother from North Carolina has pled guilty to second degree murder in Catawba County Superior Court. She is accused of murdering her 10-year-old stepdaughter through undetermined means including dismembering her body. The woman also pled guilty to obstruction of justice in an unrelated criminal charge.

According to court and police records and reports, the young girl was reported missing about one year ago from her Hickory town. Police found her remains scattered across the state.

The 10-year-old girl and her father moved to the U.S. from Australia after meeting the stepmother online. The young girl had previously been diagnosed with bone cancer and had a prosthetic leg and hearing aids. The girl’s father has not been charged in connection with the murder.

The case has captivated residents in both Australia and North Carolina. As the details of the situation emerged, it became clear that the stepmother was deeply troubled. She alleged that the young child had been killed two weeks before she was reported missing and she confessed to a fake ransom note lefts in the family’s car.

Source: Fox News “North Carolina Stepmom Pleads Guilty to Second Degree Murder in Death of Disabled Girl,” 9/15/2011