Two southwest Missouri women are charged with second-degree murder in the death of a 5-year-old girl at their home, police said.
The Waynesville police department said in a news release that one of the girl's siblings told a school resource officer on Tuesday that he had seen her unconscious and unresponsive at their home that morning.
Another sibling answered the door and told officers her younger sister was dead, police said. The Pulaski County coroner later declared her dead at the scene.
Angela West, 39, and Shamira Buford, 36, were charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse.
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The women told officers they sometimes tied the girl up to prevent her from stealing food, and sometimes put a sock in her mouth to keep her from "whining and crying," according to a probable cause statement.
The women's relationship to the girl was not released. They are being held without bond in the Pulaski County jail.
A public defender representing the women did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
