Mom Forced Daughter, 13, To Help Bury 4-Year-Old Sister In Backyard: Cops

Malikah Bennett, 31

Photo: Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office

A recently released search warrant provides disturbing details about the murder of a four-year-old girl in North Carolina. Malikah Bennett, 31, was charged with first-degree murder, felony child abuse, inflicting physical injury, and felony concealing a death in the death of her four-year-old daughter, Miegellic "Jelli" Young.

Authorities said that Young died after she was forced to stand in the laundry room for three days as punishment for soiling her pants. On the third day, the girl passed out and struck her head on the ground. Bennett attempted to perform CPR, but the girl was dead.

Bennett then put Young's body in two black trash and put it in the trunk of her SUV. She left it there for five days before it started to smell bad. Bennett then dug a hole in her backyard and instructed her 13-year-old daughter to put her sister's remains in the hole and cover it with dirt. 

Authorities discovered the body during a welfare check that was requested by a child protective service worker. The young girl had numerous injuries including, bruises, swelling, and black eyes.

Bennett has been the subject of multiple domestic violence and abuse reports involving her family and children. She is also facing three pending misdemeanor child abuse charges from February 2020.

Bennett's mother, 53-year-old Tammy Taylor Moffett, was also arrested and charged with concealing a death and accessory to murder after the fact.


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