A Florida mother was arrested after driving around for two days with her dead daughter’s body in her car.
Erica Newsome, 37, crashed into a guard rail in West Virginia, but two New York motorists spotted her dragging the body of her 11-year-old daughter out of the truck wrapped in a blanket. The motorists called 911, and police arrived to find the body of Kay-lea, who a coroner confirmed had been dead for at least 24 hours. Police believe she died in Jacksonville.
“It was obvious that the 11-year-old did not die from injuries from the accident,” State Police Sgt. Herby Barlow told the Pocahontas Times. “Her injuries were non-motor vehicle injuries.”
In a Miranda statement, Newsome said that she had intended to take her daughter to go see her father and said that the girl did not move, speak, eat, or use the bathroom during the two-day trip.
Kaye-lea’s father, Donath Plummer, told News 4 that he had received a random text message from Newsome saying that she was bringing their daughter up to him. He got another text message the next day saying that they had car trouble and needed a break. Then, on Sunday, he found out that his daughter was dead.
Plummer credited the New York couple who called police with uncovering the truth, saying that otherwise, he would have never known to go looking.
“If she hadn’t been discovered by [the couple] I wouldn’t have known about the child. She had not been reported missing,” Barlow told the Pocahontas Times.
Investigators are still looking into the matter.