Mother and stepfather beat 9-year-old girl to death and then blamed her injuries on a hit-and-run driver, police say

A New Jersey mother and stepfather are behind bars after allegedly beating a 9-year-old girl to death and blaming her injuries on being struck by a car, Garden State law enforcement says.

India Miller, 27, and Sean Scott, 45, stand accused of murder, child endangerment and making a false report to police, according to the Paulsboro Police Department.

The investigation began during the early morning hours on Tuesday, Oct. 13, on a dark street in Paulsboro, a small town and part of the broader Philadelphia metro area.

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At around 1 a.m., Scott called 911 to report that the girl had been hit by a car and was not breathing, according to court documents obtained by Philadelphia-based ABC affiliate WPVI.

“Sounds like CPR is in progress,” a 911 dispatcher told responding officers. “Caller is advising my partner that the 9-year-old may have been hit by a car and is now in cardiac arrest.”

Miller allegedly told investigators that she thought she heard tires screeching while her daughter was walking the dog, police said.

“[S]he heard a loud sound, similar to tires screeching, before Scott went outside and found the victim by their shed,” according to a police report obtained by local NBC affiliate WCAU.

After the girl was taken to a hospital, however, medical staff determined the child’s injuries were not consistent with being hit by a vehicle, according to law enforcement.

The hospital observed facial trauma, bruises all over the child’s body and numerous broken ribs in various stages of healing, police said. An autopsy later showed the child’s left eye was swollen shut, that her colon was ruptured and that she had abrasions on her “inner thigh and intimate parts,” according to law enforcement.

The little girl was pronounced dead at 6:42 p.m. that same day. Her cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt-force injuries, according to police.

Inside the family’s residence, investigators found what looked like blood-covered children’s clothes in a tub, on tile in the bathroom and on cleaning implements like a Swiffer WetJet, authorities say.

Additionally, surveillance footage showed no vehicle traffic on the street at the time the child was allegedly hit by a car, police said.

In an interview, a 4-year-old sibling of the victim said Scott hit the girl in the eyes and face on the night in question, authorities say.

The defendants are currently detained in the Salem County Jail.

The post Mother and stepfather beat 9-year-old girl to death and then blamed her injuries on a hit-and-run driver, police say first appeared on Law & Crime.