Now this is truly despicable! Please continue to read with caution as the details of this story are truly horrific!
An Idaho woman has pleaded guilty to allegations that she had two of her children help her burn her 2-year-old daughter’s body in a barrel after the toddler died of a head injury.
Veronica Herrera of Homedale told investigators that she “freaked out” after her daughter Nakita jumped off a potty chair, hit her head on a heater and died hours later last August.
According to documents, the 29-year-old told police she put the toddler in a playpen after her injury and asked her 9-year-old son to watch her while she took some of her other children to her sister’s home in Caldwell.
Idaho Statesman reports:
Herrera said she called her son later that day to check on Nakita and her son said the toddler was sleeping.
Herrera said that when she came home that night, she noticed a large bump and cut on Nakita’s head and figured out the toddler was not breathing.
Herrera told police that she put the toddler’s body in the back of her van that night. The next morning, she walked to the store, bought some lighter fluid, put the body in the barrel and set it aflame.
Now this is horrific!
Herrera told police that she didn’t think any of her other kids saw her put the body in the barrel, but did say that her 9-year-old son “is a smart kid and might have known.”
The mother then said she kept the fire going for 24 hours but saw some remains were still inside Friday morning, so she returned to the store for more lighter fluid and the body burned for two days. Herrera told police that she had her other children put garbage in the barrel to keep the fire going.
When Nakita’s father called to ask about the toddler, Herrera lied and said the toddler was staying at her parents’ house in Nampa. Herrera told police that she confessed to them after telling her parents what happened. They drove her to the police station on Saturday.
Herrera is currently being held in the Owyhee County Jail on a felony charge of destruction of evidence while police and prosecutors investigate, and more chargers are possible.
Court documents identify Nakita as the victim, but Owyhee County Coroner Aaron Tines said Monday that he would need more forensic tests to make a positive identification of the burned remains.
Records show that Herrera has been in court over foster care issues with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare three times as of last November, but it is not clear why. The case is being investigated by Homedale and state police.
SOURCE: Idaho Statesman
