(Veronica Green Posey - Escambia County Sheriff’s Office)
A 325-pound woman from Florida is charged with killing her 9-year-old cousin by sitting on the child as punishment.
64-year-old Veronica Green Posey was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child, according to a report from The Pensacola News Journal.
Deputies and paramedics showed up to the family's house following a 911 call on Saturday. Posey told deputies that she sat on Dericka Lindsay because she was "out of control."
During the awful ordeal, Dericka told Posey and two other adult relatives that she couldn't breathe. The other adults have been identified as the girl's parents.
When Posey finally got up, Dericka wasn't breathing. She called 911 and tried doing CPR.
According to the arrest report, Grace Joan Smith, 69, and James Edmund Smith are charged with child neglect.
Grace Smith called Posey, who is her niece, over to her house to help her discipline the child. Smith told authorities that Posey hit the girl with a ruler and a metal pipe before she ran into an armchair.
Posey then sat on her for 10 minutes before the girl told her she couldn't breathe. Posey remained on top of her for 2 more minutes before getting up.
Mike Carroll, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, called the death "appalling." He said the agency will work with the sheriff's office to make sure those responsible for her death will be brought to justice:
"As the family has a prior interaction with the child welfare system, a thorough quality assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interactions this family has had with the child welfare system."
Posey was released yesterday on $125,000 bail, but the Smiths are still in jail. Sounds like an awful family.