An upstate New York woman has been charged with fatally beating her 5-year-old daughter and then hiding the body, authorities said Monday.
Latasha Mott, of Syracuse, is accused of hitting her young daughter with a belt several times while the girl, Nefertiti Harris, was in the shower on Jan.6, prosecutors said.
Nefertiti died as a result of the beating, police said. Mott then hid the body in a wooded area, according to court papers filed in Syracuse City Court.
The investigation began on Sunday after family members worried about the girl’s welfare contacted police, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said.
Both Mott and her boyfriend were questioned by investigators on Sunday. According to Fitzpatrick, Mott confessed to the killing and told police the girl’s body was hidden in a wooded area, but her boyfriend was uncooperative.
On Monday, the 29-year-old mother was charged with first-degree manslaughter and concealment of a corpse. She pleaded not guilty and is currently being held in Onondaga County Justice Center on $500,000 cash or a $1 million bond.
On Tuesday, local television station WSYR reported that Mott managed to hide her daughter’s death by lying to school teachers about why the girl wasn’t attending classes.
According to a spokesperson for the Syracuse City School District, Mott transferred Nefertiti from McKinley-Brighton Elementary School to Meachem Elementary School on Jan. 16 — 10 days after the alleged fatal beating.
She never attended class at Meachem. When educators asked Mott about it, she “informed school employees [her daughter] would be attending school in Georgia and living with family there,” a spokeswoman for the district said.
Mott reportedly also lied to her mother and friends about the girl’s whereabouts, sources told WSYR.
The mother told Nefertiti’s grandmother the girl was staying with a family friend. She also told that friend the girl was staying with her grandmother.
On Saturday, the two women ran into each other and talked about the little girl. That’s when they realized Mott was lying.
Authorities were still looking for the body as of Tuesday morning.
With News Wire Services
