A Las Vegas woman allegedly killed her 5-year-old daughter, who was found dead in her sweltering bedroom — and told investigators “it was a necessary sacrifice,” police said.
Kemaya Taylor, 23, was charged with murder and child abuse after her daughter’s body was discovered in the family’s stifling home on June 28. The girl’s 2-year-old sister was found alive inside the locked bedroom, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Cops initially went to the residence 12 days earlier for a welfare check when an acquaintance reported that Taylor made a “vague suicidal threat.” She told police she planned to quit her job and to “watch out on the news,” an arrest report shows.
Taylor and her children could not be found at the time, but a neighbor called police back to the home on June 28 after seeing her front door open. Taylor, who appeared to be suffering from mental illness, met cops outside and told investigators her children were upstairs, according to the report.
The 5-year-old girl, whose identity had not been released as of Wednesday, was then found dead in the “extremely warm” home, where air conditioning was not turned on. A thermostat indicated it was 95 degrees inside, police said.
The temp inside the girls’ room was “exponentially warmer,” according to the report, reaching 101 degrees. A humidifier inside was also set to its maximum setting, KLAS reported.
Taylor was taken into custody before she made unprompted statements to investigators, police said.
“[An officer] reported Taylor making spontaneous utterances such as ‘it was a necessary sacrifice,’” cops wrote in the report. “Witnesses in the neighborhood also overheard Taylor say ‘I killed it’ and claimed to be the ‘son of Jacob.’”
One neighbor said Taylor had been spotted in the neighborhood carrying a bat and a blender. She was also accused of damaging vehicles before cops got to the scene, the Review-Journal reported.
Taylor refused to speak to cops, but insisted on being taken to an “insane asylum,” police said.
She remained in custody Wednesday at the Clark County Detention Center. A preliminary hearing has been set for July 15, the Review-Journal reported.
In addition to the murder charge, Taylor is facing two counts of felony child abuse. Her younger daughter was in the custody of child protective services, KLAS reported.