Texas mom accused of killing 5-year-old daughter as she yelled, ‘I’ve been good!’
A Texas woman allegedly confessed to killing her 5-year-old daughter because “she was evil” – stabbing, strangling and placing a bag over the girl’s head even as she desperately pleaded for her life by screaming: “I’ve been good!”
Melissa White Towne, 37, allegedly took her daughter Nichole to Spring Creek Park in Tomball on Sunday, made her get down on her knees and cut her neck with a knife, KPRC reported.
Nichole desperately fought for her life and yelled, “I’ve been good!” – but her deranged mother continued the brutal attack and mercilessly yelled, “Stop fighting it!” authorities said.
Towne allegedly told investigators she wanted to kill her daughter “because she was an evil child and did not want to deal with her anymore,” prosecutors said in court on Monday, KTRK reported.
When she realized that the child was still alive, she resorted to strangling her for the next 30 to 45 minutes in the murderous frenzy, according to court documents cited by the station.
Towne then wrapped the girl’s mutilated body inside a mesh laundry bag and placed it on the floor of her Jeep Cherokee, which she drove to the emergency room of the HCA Tomball Hospital, Harris County sheriff’s deputies told KPRC.
She asked hospital staff for a wheelchair because “her daughter’s body was hurting,” police said.
A nurse discovered Nichole in the vehicle, her body partially wrapped in bags and with a laceration visible on the neck. She was pronounced dead at 12:10 p.m., deputies said.
Police found a knife in Towne’s pocket when she was arrested, officials said.
She was charged with capital murder and was booked into the Harris County Jail. The initial probable cause magistrate set her bond at $15 million.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said it also is investigating the horrific crime, telling Houston’s KTRK that Towne “does have prior history with CPS, but specific details of CPS investigations are confidential according to law.
“Ms. Towne has three additional children ranging in age from 2 years old to 18 years old, who are safe and have been living with other family members,” the agency added.
Towne has a history of homelessness, KTRK reported, but authorities have not yet looked into the matter.
Alan Pffar, one of her old neighbors, said he had to call police on her multiple times, ABC7 reported.
“We always knew she had mental issues. She would have arguments with my mailbox for no reason,” he said, adding that he decided to put up security cameras because of her.
“One time, she was beating up on a car. I didn’t realize it was hers. She was hitting it with a baseball bat,” Pffar said, according to the station.
People close to the family told KTRK that Nichole and her dad, James, lived with his father and stepmother in Magnolia for some time
Neighbors said they would sometimes take care of the girl.
“He was asking for help, and anytime we could, we would all help,” said a neighbor, who declined to be named, ABC7 reported.
“He loved her. He was the best daddy he could be,” the neighbor said.
Nichole’s family said she would always be remembered as the “sweetest little girl.”
“She will always hold a special place in all of our hearts. We will always remember her as the sweetest little girl who never met a stranger. She was so full of love and giggles and her bright blue eyes shined so full of curiosity,” the family told Eyewitness News.
