A 1-year-old girl was fatally injured while her aunt and her boyfriend were babysitting, Tennessee police said.
Now, 21-year-old Kiya Moore and 34-year-old Dejon Smith are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, according to Shelby County case records.
Moore and Smith had been babysitting Moore’s niece from Aug. 15 until her death in the early hours of Aug. 17, the Memphis Police Department said in an arrest affidavit.
Neither has an attorney listed in court records for this case.
Moore was already facing four counts of aggravated child abuse of a child under 6 in a case that’s been ongoing since 2022, records show.
An attorney representing her in that case declined to comment to McClatchy News.
In the current case, police said the couple gave conflicting stories about what happened to 1-year-old Kali Moore.
Smith told investigators he was home with his girlfriend when he heard her yelling in the back room with the child. He said he heard Moore slam the girl six to 10 times, and when he asked what she was doing, she said nothing but added the child was “crying too much and getting on her nerves,” police said.
Smith said Moore stopped when he entered the room, and he performed CPR and put cold water on the child, then Moore called a family member to ask them to take the girl to a hospital, according to police.
He said Moore told him the girl “fell off the bed and hit her head on the nightstand,” investigators said.
Moore told a different story. She said she left the girl with Smith, and when she came back home, the child was unresponsive, according to the affidavit.
She said Smith wanted her to say she fell asleep while holding the child, then the girl fell off the bed and hit her head on the nightstand, according to police.
Moore confirmed she called the family member to take the girl to a hospital, police said.
The doctor found the 1-year-old had a brain bleed, “massive bruising,” signs of abdominal trauma, and skull and neck fractures, in addition to other injuries, police said.
Police reported they were called when the child went into cardiac arrest.
“So I was the last one to actually hold my baby in my arms,” Margaret Calicott, the child’s great-grandmother, told WHBQ. “We’ve never had to deal with a situation like this.” Calicott told the outlet Kali was her and her husband’s only great-grandchild.
When investigators visited the Memphis home where Moore and Smith were watching the child, they said they found no baby food there.
Moore and Smith are both being held without bond, records show.
If you suspect a child has experienced, is currently experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, your first step should be to contact the appropriate agency. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a list of state agencies you can contact. Find help specific to your area here.
For additional help, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline has professional crisis counselors available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 170 languages. All calls are confidential. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. You can call or text 1-800-422-4453 .
If you believe a child is in immediate danger, please call 911 for help.
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