Mother reportedly made 13-year-old daughter help bury 4-year-old sister in backyard after horrific torture

A North Carolina woman reportedly forced her 13-year-old daughter to help bury her other daughter, a 4-year-old child who died after purportedly enduring horrific abuse and torture at the hands of her own mother.

What's the history here?

In May, authorities arrested 31-year-old Malikah Bennett of Charlotte, North Carolina, and charged her with first-degree murder, felony child abuse, inflicting physical injury, and felony concealing a death in connection to the disappearance and murder of her daughter, 4-year-old Majelic Young.

The Associated Press reported that Bennett also has three pending misdemeanor child abuse charges stemming from an undisclosed February 2020 incident.

The 4-year-old's body was discovered in May, buried in the family's backyard after having been missing for nearly a year.

The child was last seen alive in August or September of 2020, according to recently released court documents, and was previously considered a missing person.

Mom charged after remains of 4-year-old found behind N CLT homewww.youtube.com

What's happening now?

Recently released documents state that Bennett reportedly forced the child to stand for three straight days in the family's laundry room as punishment after the child soiled herself. The girl reportedly became so weak at day three that she fell over backward out a door, suffering fatal injuries in the fall.

When she discovered Majelic unconscious, Bennett reportedly attempted to administer CPR, but was unsuccessful in reviving the child.

After determining she was dead, Bennett then reportedly wrapped the 4-year-old's body in two plastic bags and placed the child's lifeless body in the trunk of her SUV.

Majelic's body rested there in the SUV for five days before allegedly Bennett decided to bury the child's body in the family's backyard. According to court documents, she forced her unnamed 13-year-old daughter to help bury the child.

Authorities said the 13-year-old girl confirmed that Bennett did direct her to help bury the child's body, corroborating information provided to authorities from a social worker.

Authorities also arrested Bennett's mother, Tammy Moffett, in connection to the child's death and charged her with concealing human remains and accessory to murder after the fact.

Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department Lt. Bryan Crum said of the death, "I've worked homicide most of the last 10 years and I can tell you this case is deeply disturbing. It's disturbing to everyone who's worked it. Crime scene investigators, detectives, everyone involved in this case — many of us are parents, and it's very difficult to understand how someone could do this to their child, kill their child and bury them and move on with their life as if nothing happened."

He added that the child's death was a direct result of living in an "abusive environment."