A North Carolina woman accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter in Charlotte pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday, according to reports.
Malikah Bennett, the mother of Migellic “Jelli” Young, was arrested in May 2021 after the girl’s remains were found buried in the backyard of a home on Braden Drive in north Charlotte.
She was sentenced to 300-372 months in prison for her role in the child’s death.
Bennett was one of several people who volunteered to be interviewed by detectives after the remains were discovered. Shortly after, police arrested and charged her with felony child abuse, inflicting physical injury, felony concealing a death and first-degree murder.
After Jelli’s death, an autopsy revealed she had been malnourished, abused and had acetone and ethanol in her system.
The girl was last seen in September 2020 – months before her remains were found.
In the weeks after Jelli’s death, warrants revealed that Bennett forced another daughter, who was 13 at the time, to help bury her sister.
According to the warrants, a person investigators interviewed told them Bennett punished the young girl by making her stand in a laundry room for days. She was unable to sit and reportedly became so weak she passed out and fell through a door.
Police said in May 2021 that an “abusive environment” eventually led to the girl’s death.
After the girl died, the person told investigators that Bennett placed her body in an SUV for about five days before burying her in plastic bags in the backyard.
Officers who worked the case called it “deeply disturbing” and said they suspected foul play shortly after the girl was reported missing.
Prosecutors said in December 2021 that they would not pursue the death penalty against Bennett.
Within about a week of Jelli’s remains being discovered, Tammy Moffett, who was identified as the child’s grandmother, was also arrested. She was charged with concealing a death and accessory after the fact.
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