CENTERFIELD, Utah (AP) - A Sanpete County woman has been charged with first-degree felony child abuse homicide after police say she beat her 2-year-old daughter to death but told authorities the girl had drowned in a wading pool.
Charges against Ariel Melinda Hampton, of Centerfield, were filed on Monday. Her daughter, Kirsten Anderson, was pronounced dead on the way to a hospital on Thursday.
Police say Hampton, 23, told authorities she found the child face down in a wading pool. But a doctor said no water appeared to be in the child's lungs.
Someone at the office of Hampton's court-appointed attorney, Lawrence Hunt, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Hunt did not have any information on the case yet and could not comment.
Hunt was appointed to represent Hampton on Tuesday.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
