4-year-old girl dies after mother tapes her mouth shut and leaves her

(AP) — Authorities say a 4-year-old South Carolina girl died after her mother taped her mouth shut and left her.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Friday that 24-year-old Cynthia Estrada-Lopez of Lexington is charged with homicide by child abuse.

Sheriff Jay Koon says investigators believe the mother restrained her daughter in the child’s bed, taped her mouth and abandoned her July 31.

When emergency workers responded later that night, the girl was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Estrada-Lopez remained in the Lexington County jail Saturday. It’s unknown if she has an attorney.

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