Authorities in Maryland have arrested a 24-year-old mother for the murder of her daughter, who was just 5 weeks old.
Maryland State Police confirm Destiny Faith Chiveral, who lives in Charlestown, was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in death.
Her baby died on December 4, and investigators claim the infant’s body was found wedged between the cushions of Chiveral’s couch.
Ambulances were summoned to Chiveral’s home just after 9 a.m. that same day. By the time they arrived, the infant, whose name was not released, was dead.
Chiveral was arrested after an autopsy revealed trauma to the baby’s body.
Doctors found that the baby suffered blunt force trauma that caused “bleeding to the back of the brain.” Chiveral told authorities the baby had slipped in between the couch cushions and had been smothered.
But physicians said the injuries to the baby’s body did not support Chiveral’s claims, according to the Cecil Whig.
The baby’s body also had a small facial laceration, an abrasion to the side of her face, two bruises on her behind, and a large bruise beneath her scalp, the paper reported.
Maryland State Police allege that detectives uncovered videos Chiveral had recorded with her cell phone the night before her baby died. The videos, filmed with Snapchat, allegedly show the mom “became intoxicated” while alone with the baby.
Kentucky Cheerleader Laken Snelling Could ‘Absolutely’ Face Murder Charges: Attorney
“A majority of the videos appear to be outgoing Snapchat videos from Chiveral to others,” the probable cause statement read, according to the Cecil Whig.
Investigators allege the baby can be heard crying in the background of several of the videos, which were recorded over two hours, starting at 11:30 p.m. on December 3. The intoxicated mom allegedly struggles with a baby gate in one clip, and blurts out, “I’m too (expletive) drunk for that. I’m just going to (expletive) climb over the (expletive) (expletive).”
In another video, Chiveral allegedly says from the bathroom, “I don’t know if you hear the (expletive) baby trippin’ in the background” as the child wails.
Police spoke to a witness who said Chiveral had a “nearly empty bottle of vodka” on her kitchen table.
“Witness 1 indicated that this bottle of vodka belonged to her and that she last left it in the freezer a number of days prior,” the affidavit explains, according to the Cecil Whig. “Witness 1 stated that this bottle was nearly full when she placed it previously into the freezer, and that the bottle of vodka was not on the kitchen table the night prior.”
When asked about the baby’s injuries, Chiveral allegedly said she would never hurt her child. But she proposed she could have accidentally kicked the baby as she slept, or that it was possible she inadvertently hurt the baby while sleepwalking.
She even suggested that her older child, a toddler, is often rough with the infant, and called the child “untrustworthy.”
“Nothing I say is going to fix this, is it?” Chiveral allegedly asked, according to the documents. “No matter what, I’m going to be blamed for her death, ain’t I?”
Chiveral is currently held without bond at the Cecil County Detention Center. It was unclear Tuesday, December 16, if she had entered pleas to the charges or had an attorney who could address the allegations against her.