MI mother accused of murdering 8-year-old daughter; blames death on 'spirits'

Wayne, Michigan — A woman in Wayne, Michigan has been arrested in the murder and assault of her 8-year-old daughter.

Authorities say the woman allegedly blamed the girl's death on a bad spirit in her house.

Authorities say the child was found unresponsive in a bedroom and her injuries made the child unrecognizable.

"The sheer brutality that innocent Lyla suffered is really like nothing I’ve seen in my five years of handling child abuse cases,” said prosecutor Erin Wilmoth.

Police later described how they found the child inside the home.

"An officer observed the victim, Lyla Castle, lying on her back on the floor. Officers observed the victim to have significant swelling.”

Investigators say the child was beaten so badly that she was unrecognizable and was unable to move, and instead of getting her help, her mother reportedly got diapers to put on her so she wouldn't soil the bed.

The child’s mother, Chelsea Duperon, moved into the home with her boyfriend who told police that he knew the child was injured and told Duperon to take her to the hospital, but did not intervene because Lyla was not his child.

When police got to the home early Saturday morning and asked Chelsea Duperon what happened, she responded, “I swear to God this is not me, this sounds crazy but there's bad spirits.”

Duperon allegedly claimed that “there was lady who came out of nowhere.”

Prosecutors say Lyla could have survived if she had been given medical help.

Neighbors say they never saw any signs she was abused, and that she was a “lively, sweet child who would play outside all day.”

"She loved coming over and asking if she could get a Slurpee, she was the most innocent child I’ve ever met,” one neighbor said.

Duperon has been charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse.

She pled not guilty and was remanded to jail without bond.

If convicted, she faces the possibility of life in prison.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zZqroqeeYsSwvsudZqahk522qK3NZqSorJiav26twpysrJ2UYrq2vsOeqaKml2KFbsXEmqlmp5yZeqWt1KCfrZ2iYq%2BtrcyeqmaclZbBqXnOp2SsqJmntrW%2FjJypoqWVYravwsSsq6Kfkam2sLqMqaaloZOaere1wq2gpmWTnbatsA%3D%3D