The five-year-old brother of a girl who was beaten and starved to death by their mother brought food to her funeral so she would have enough to eat in heaven, it was revealed.
‘Monster mom’ Carlotta Brett-Pierce was found guilty of murder last month and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison yesterday.
Her four-year-old daughter Marchella died covered in bruises and open wounds and weighing only 19 pounds in September 2010. She was found drugged and beaten, tied to her SpongeBob SquarePants bed at the Brooklyn home.
The little girl, who was force-fed allergy pills, was often beaten in front of her brother Tymel.
Prosecutor Jacqueline Kagan revealed that Tymel, now seven, was deeply traumatized by the events he witnessed at home and still grieves for his sister.
When he attended her funeral, he had brought food with him so that he could help his sister.
Ms Kagan said: ‘He brought with him food because he knew she didn’t get enough. And he told his foster mother, ”I hope that she gets enough food and water in heaven,”’ according to the New York Post.
The month-long trial of Brett-Pierce, 32, in a Brooklyn court room finished quickly on May 9 with the jury requiring only one hour to deliberate over her guilt.
When Marchella Brett-Pierce was found, she was tied to her bed with jump ropes, had been beaten, starved and drugged.
Prosecutors say she had dozens of marks and open wounds on her tiny body which was so emaciated, every rib could be seen.
Carlotta Brett-Pierce was emotionless when the jury proclaimed her guilty of her daughter Marchella’s death. Her punishment did not even stop her from giving the judge some attitude when asked if she understood.
‘I heard what you said,’ the 32-year-old said.
She has refused to accept blame for the death of her daughter, blaming the jurors, lawyers and the press for her murder conviction, calling it a ‘tragedy’.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Patricia DiMango said yesterday: ‘This child, at her tender age, was subjected to a hell that no one should have to endure.
‘What kind of person could do this to a child, let alone their own child?’ she said, according to DNAinfo.com
During the trial, Brett-Pierce’s answers painted a ghastly picture of their home life.
She said of her daughter near the time of her September 2010 death: ‘To me, at the time, it didn’t look bad.’
Brett-Pierce said that her daughter lost weight by running around in the heat and sustained the bruises from falling in the stairway.
Judge DiMango also sentenced grandmother Loretta Brett to five to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in the death.
Throughout the trial, her lawyers switched between disproving the prosecutions tales of horrific beatings and arguing that Brett-Pierce was an overwhelmed mother with a sick daughter that she didn’t know how to care for.
Marchella spent the first three-and-a-half years of her life in hospital after she was born prematurely with severe breathing difficulties.
Her mother admitted on the stand that in the seven months she was in her care, she never took the four-year-old to a pediatrician.
A prosecutor showed the mother a doctor’s note indicating that her youngest boy weighed 18 pounds at nine months – roughly the same weight as four-year-old Marchella when she died.
She told the court she fed her daughter ‘potato chips, fried chicken and cheese doodles’, but an autopsy recorded that only a single corn kernel was found in her body, along with a high level of antihistamines.
Marchella should have been on a specialized diet and fed through a tube, which prosecutors say the mother totally ignored, instead feeding her junk food.
During questioning she denied certain things she had already told police and called Marchella ‘my baby’ as opposed to ‘that b***h’ – which she was heard calling her in a recorded jail conversation played for the jury saying: ‘That b***h wasn’t that f***ing light.’
When she was released from hospital seven months before her death, she weighed 26lbs- a stark contrast from her final weight of 18.9 pounds.
The Administration for Children’s Services became involved with the family after Brett Pierce gave birth to a boy who tested positive for drugs.
Two social workers from ACS who had involvement in Marchella’s case were charged separately with criminally negligent homicide for failing to prevent the tragic death.
Damon Adams and Chereece Bell were both charged with criminally negligent homicide, official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Their case is due to begin.
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Brother Of Girl Who Was Starved To Death By Mother, Brought Food To Her Funeral ‘So His Sister Could Eat In Heaven’
58-years-old MP for Sidi Bouzid, birthplace of Arab SpringLeader of a small left-wing party, the Popular MovementPromoted pan-Arabism and socialismFar lower profile then Chokri Belaid, who was assassinated in FebruaryPractising Muslim, unlike Mr BelaidCritic of government, but also had many friends in the main Islamist party, EnnahdaHis wife blames Ennahda for his killing; others disagree.After the ceremony, anti- and pro-government demonstrators gathered outside parliament buildings in central Tunis. Reports say police used tear gas to disperse them.