On Sunday, two motorists discovered a car in rural West Virginia that had slammed into a guardrail.
According to police, motorists said that they saw a female pull a child’s body, wrapped in a blanket, from inside the car and drag it into the woods, The Washington Post reports.
Attending to the scene, police identified the woman as 37-year-old Florida woman Erica Newsome, with the body of her 11-year-old daughter, Kaye-lea Plummer.
State Police Sgt. Herby Barlow told local media that Kaye-lea has died in Jacksonville at least 24 hours earlier and that foul play was suspected in her death.
“It was obvious that the 11-year-old did not die from injuries from the accident,” Barlow told the Pocahontas Times. “Her injuries were non-motor vehicle injuries.”
“At this time, foul play is suspected in the child’s death and we believe the death occurred in Jacksonville, Florida,” the sheriff’s office there said.
As news.com.au reports, Ms Newsome has been arrested on charges of concealing the body of her daughter.
The girl’s father, Donath Plummer, said his estranged wife had texted him on Sunday morning with the news she was bringing Kaye-lea to Buffalo, New York, where he lived.
“We didn’t always agree on everything, but she was a great mother. I don’t know how this could have happened,” Plummer said. “Something is very, very wrong. She needs help. She really needs help.”
This article first published on Marie Claire.
