Starving 7-year-old was 25 pounds when she died, cops say. Parents charged with murder

A 7-year-old Oklahoma girl weighed just 25 pounds when her parents took her to a hospital, and now they’re charged with murder, officials told news outlets.

Lisa Mitchell, 30, and Anthony Yonko, 37, arrived seeking help, with their starved daughter wrapped in a blanket, on Friday Aug. 2, according to documents obtained by KFOR.

She was “extremely malnourished,” doctors told investigators, and as they examined her it became clear she was likely already beyond help, as her body was in rigor mortis, the outlet reported. Additionally, doctors noticed “possible injuries internal and external,” according to investigators.

The girl was pronounced dead in an emergency room, KWTV reported, and it wasn’t long before police showed up to the couple’s Midwest City apartment looking for answers.

While speaking with the couple at their apartment, Mitchell pinned her daughter’s malnourished state on illness, saying the girl had been “sick with the flu,” the station reported.

The full extent of the alleged abuse isn’t clear — how long it went on, and if the girl is the only victim — but neighbors recalled seeing the “sickly” looking child, and also said they frequently heard children crying inside the home, KOCO reported.

Mitchell and Yonko are charged with first-degree murder, according to the station.

Their bonds have been set at $10 million each, records filed Aug. 5 show.

Midwest City is a roughly 10-mile drive east from downtown Oklahoma City.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Starving 7-year-old was 25 pounds when she died, cops say. Parents charged with murder."