A GIRL has been found dead after she was tied up to a garage door, beaten, and ruthlessly starved by her adopted mother, police said.
Diane Mack, 34, allegedly left her 13-year-old daughter’s near-naked corpse for hours in their Florida home before finally calling the cops.
Highlands County Sheriff’s OfficeDiane Mack, 34-year-old former Florida Department of Children and Families employee, has been arrested and charged with her adopted daughter’s murder[/caption]
Highlands County Sheriff’s OfficeThe Highlands County Sherrif’s Department found the 13-year-old girl’s body on Friday morning wearing nothing but a diaper[/caption]
Highlands County Sheriff’s OfficeMack has been accused of beating, starving, and imprisoning her daughter in their home’s garage[/caption]
When first responders arrived, they found, “one of the most disturbing crime scenes I’ve encountered in more than 30 years of law enforcement,” Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman said.
“There are no words I can say that can truly convey the nightmare that this child’s life must have been.”
Cops were called to Mack’s home in the Sun ‘n Lake community of Sebring, about two hours south of Orlando, after midnight Friday morning. Her daughter was dead when they arrived.
Mack couldn’t give cops a straight story of what happened. At one point, she said the girl collapsed Thursday morning but then later said it happened in the afternoon.
Either way, after the girl fell unconscious, the mom made the outrageous decision to drive her four other children to Titusville, about two hours away.
When she got back, she finally decided to call the police.
When sheriff’s deputies walked into the home, they immediately noticed disturbing signs of abuse.
Detectives believe the teen, who was homeschooled, was heartlessly tied up in the home’s garage and watched with cameras that were pointed at her prison-like room.
The girl was severely starved, with scars and fresh wounds, including bed sores, covering her entire body.
Cops say Mack tried to use pool chlorine in the garage to clean it up and hide the horrific conditions where she kept her daughter.
They’re still investigating how long the helpless teen was trapped.
Sheriff Blackman shared his shock and horror after learning that Mack is a former employee of the Department of Children and Families.
She served as a guardian at litem, which is someone a court appoints to protect children who were unable to help themselves.
“That someone whose job it was to look after the welfare of children could treat their own child in this manner is simply beyond belief,” he said.
Who is Diane Mack?
DIANE Mack is a former child services worker who has been arrested and charged with allegedly murdering her adopted daughter.
On November 15, cops came to Mack’s home in Highlands County, Florida, and found the 13-year-old girl’s body.
They said she was wearing nothing but a diaper, and had wounds all over.
She also appeared to have been severely starved.
Detectives believe the girl was being kept in the home’s garage, and was watched by cameras set up in the room.
Mack is being charged with first degree murder and child abuse, and she’s being kept in jail without bail.
“To see a child treated this way is not only heartbreaking, it is infuriating.”
NEIGHBOR’S HORROR
Neighbors in the community were devastated to hear the news and voiced their horror over the tragedy.
“Totally shocked, cannot believe it,” David Mullikin told NBC affiliate WFLA.
Mullkin was familiar with most of the children who lived at the home but rarely saw Mack.
“I saw the little girls that lived there. They go up and down on the street on their bikes almost every day,” he said.
“Matter of fact, I hadn’t seen them lately do that. I had no idea there was a 13-year-old kid in that house.”
Mullikin chatted with police on Friday morning after first responders blocked his driveway. They were asking whether neighbors noticed anything odd about the home.
After searching around the home, cops allegedly found disturbing notes that appeared to be written by children as a form of punishment, Mack’s arrest warrant states.
In one note, a child wrote down behaviors that could get her “butt” spanked by her mom.
And another note discussed how choices can have dire consequences, like getting thrown out of the house.
I had no idea there was a 13-year-old kid in that house
David Mullikin
Mack has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, kidnapping, and destroying evidence.
She was seen looking down in a striped jumpsuit as an officer led her to the Highlands County Jail, where she is being held without bail.
Sheriff Blackman described the situation as “horrific” and said “no amount of law enforcement experience” could have prepared them for what they saw.
“I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to make sure that there is justice for this child,” he said.
Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman said it was one of the worst crime scenes he had seen in 30 yearsHighlands County Sheriff’s Office Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
