Police in the Sunshine State claim that a mother in Florida beat her toddler with a hanger while the girl’s father was there on FaceTime, displaying the violence on television. The mother even allegedly threatened to kill the child.
According to Miami-Dade County court documents, Aaliyah Shantrelle Herring, 25, is charged with one count each of child abuse with no harm and child neglect with no substantial bodily harm.
As soon as the assault started, the father of the 3-year-old started filming the screen on his cellphone to keep a record of the crimes, according to the Miami Gardens Police Department.
The terrifying incident was reported to police earlier this month after the father gave them access to the footage.
Monday saw Herring taken into custody. According to an arrest report acquired by a local news outlet, she allegedly admitted to disciplining her child for “throwing a remote at her” during a follow-up interview with authorities.
Subsequently, the accused changed her story and told the police that the girl’s father used artificial intelligence to construct the video, claiming she wasn’t the woman in it.
The video is unsettling. The youngster is depicted face down, as though attempting to find cover within a piece of furniture. She sobs audibly.
The mother is purportedly seen in the video hitting the infant with what looks to be a hanger and making at least two strong remarks that seem to indicate that she may try to kill the baby girl.
At one point in the video, a woman is heard stating, “Since you don’t want to handle your own kid. Guess what? I’ll eliminate her my damn self, how about that?”
The video then shows the enraged woman addressing the young child and her father once more: “Still don’t want to quiet up? That’s okay, how about you all witnessing me murder your child?
The father of the child showed the video he took and related Herring’s purported justification for the mistreatment as it occurred.
“[She was] blowing up my phone telling me to come pick up [the child],” he stated. “Then, she’s sending me pictures on Messenger. Saying that she’s had it. Saying that I’m making excuses. I’m not picking up [the child]. I’m not caring for her. I’m not — I’m not acting like the father that I was supposed to be.”
The two are no longer together, and in a previous family law matter involving child custody, he was given supervised visitation rights with the daughter.
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Now, that custody agreement is probably going to be overturned. Judge Mindy Glazer of the 11th Circuit Court granted Herring pretrial release on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, he was freed. The defendant’s bail stipulates that she cannot have any contact with her child at all.
This week, at her initial hearing, she entered a not guilty plea. A public defender was also assigned to represent the accused. On September 18, she is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment.
Authorities said that Herring’s stepmother is currently taking care of the youngster, who is in stable condition.
