Alisha M Stevens: Georgia woman arrested for death of her 1-year-old daughter who fell into a 4-foot hole
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A Georgia mother-of-five has been apprehended for the murder of her one-year-old daughter after the young girl was left unattended during a cookout and fell into a four-foot hole that had been dug into the backyard of the home and filled with water.
Alisha M Stevens was taken into custody on Monday, February 19, and charged with one count of second-degree murder in the tragic death of young Adlyn Stevens.
When were the authorities informed about the incident?
According to a news release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday, February 19, at about 12.45 pm, deputies responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious toddler at a home in the 600 block of Winter Road, which is just over 150 miles east of Atlanta.
The first responders, upon arriving at the scene, said they found someone performing CPR on “a small child” who was immediately transported to Burke County Medical Center in Waynesboro, Georgia, via ambulance. Medical personnel at the facility attempted to revive the victim but were unsuccessful and she was ultimately pronounced dead.
“Preliminary information provided to deputies was that the child was left unattended for some time and while unattended the child fell into a hole that had been dug in the back yard of the Winter Road address,” the release stated. “The hole was full of water and was approximately 3 to 4 feet deep. The child was in the care of her mother (Stevens) at the time this incident occurred,” it added.
Alisha M Stevens caused her daughter’s death through 'criminal negligence'
The affidavit stated that Stevens was “grilling and not watching her daughter” while the child “ran around the property.” “Alisha Stevens later found Adlyn Stevens in a three-foot deep hole filled with water lying face up unresponsive,” deputies wrote.
In a statement to Augusta, Georgia, CBS-affiliate WRDW, Sheriff’s Col Jimmy Wylds said he could not reveal additional details about the investigation, telling the station that authorities were awaiting the results of a pending autopsy and toxicology report.
The victim's aunt mourned the loss of her niece
Adlyn’s aunt, Rachel Lesesne, took to Facebook where she mourned the loss of her niece, saying the child “was a joy to everyone she met” and also asserted that the whole ordeal was just a tragic mishap. “This was an accident that could have happened to anyone. My sister loves all of her children and would never set out to hurt any of them,” she wrote in the post on Monday, February 19.
“Judgement aside from anyone, a baby that meant so much to our family is gone and there’s so much more to the picture than what the internet leads you to believe. There are four other children that lost their baby sister and waiting for the results of this investigation without their mother,” her post added.
Stevens is being held at the Burke County Detention Center without bond.
