The little girl went to the refrigerator in her southwest Houston apartment, in search of a snack – perhaps some fruit or milk.
But when the 5-year-old opened the door, she saw the body of her older sister, wrapped in one of her blankets, a child advocate caseworker said in a custody hearing Wednesday.
It was the latest, most grisly twist in the case of Ayahna Comb, a 9-year-old with cerebral palsy whose body was found Monday in a refrigerator. The detail elicited gasps and sobs from Ayahna’s family members, who were in court seeking custody of the younger girl.
The saga began on Monday after police were called to the apartment of 34-year-old Amber Keyes in the Happy Home Apartments in the 10100 block of Club Creek. Keyes lived there with her two daughters.
Police said they received a call after a neighbor, who had become concerned after not seeing Ayahna for several months, entered Keyes’ apartment and found the girl in her refrigerator, dead and wrapped in blankets.
“There were concerns that the child had been in the refrigerator for some time,” said Cora Christiaans, from Child Protective Services.
The curly-haired girl all but slipped off the face of the earth. In court, authorities said Ayahna hadn’t been to school or seen a doctor in two years. Investigators said relatives hadn’t seen her since late last year.
Keyes told authorities that on Jan. 29, about 3 in the morning, she found Ayahna not breathing, the caseworker said. The mother tried CPR.
“She stated that as 6 a.m. approached, … she placed the deceased child in her bed and covered her with a blanket and took her sibling off to school,” Christiaans said. “After that, she sat with the deceased child’s body for some time, and then decided to clear out a drawer in the refrigerator and place her body in there.”
Source: Chron
