A mother has been charged for the death of her 4-year-old daughter. The Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland filed a case of child abuse and assault against Iris Hernandez Rivas, 20, for what happened to her daughter, Nohely, who passed away Feb. 1.
Police reports revealed that Hernandez Rivas called 911 on Jan. 26 at around noontime to seek medical assistance, citing her daughter was unresponsive, according to The Washington Post. Hernandez Rivas recounted that Nohely went to the bathroom at around 11:30 a.m. and then the mom apparently heard a noise some 20 minutes later.
Hernandez Rivas told police she found her daughter in the bathtub with her face down. She decided to make the 911 call an hour after the incident.
Further investigations at the hospital showed the Nohely had several bruises in her body. Doctors at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. assessed the 4-year-old might have been a victim of child abuse, which eventually resulted in her death.
Major Crimes has been called in for the case and the mother confessed to what actually happened. On Jan. 26, she admitted to kicking her daughter out of anger because Nohely refused to brush her teeth.
Fox News reports that the girl hit her head when she fell backward after the kick. The mom also confessed that the bruises were from a belt beating that took plays several days earlier. Nohely was already lethargic and she had been showering when her mom found her in unresponsive in the bathroom.
The exact cause of the 4-year-old's death is still undetermined. Scans and tests taken when she was first admitted showed that she had a brain injury and a small liver contusion, which could have been incurred from a blunt force.
The mom is currently at the Montgomery County jail. Immigration officers have also been called to the case as she will likely be deported.
