Mother arrested in death of child

ST. STEPHEN —— State agents have arrested the mother of a 7-year-old girl found beaten to death in her home in September.

The State Law Enforcement Division late Tuesday charged Shaveta McGill with unlawful conduct towards a child, said SLED Inspector Richard Burton. The charge is a felony punishable by as much as 10 years in jail.

McGill was scheduled for a bond hearing at 8 a.m. today.

McGillÂ’s daughter, TaÂ’Mya Grant, was found beaten to death with a wooden board Sept. 29 at her family'Â’s Welch Street home.

McGill, who was 22 at the time, told police that she left the girl at home at 10:30 p.m. that night to get cigarettes then walked to another home nearby and later met with friends. When the friends drove her back to her home, she went inside and came back out saying her daughter had been hurt, police said.

A 911 call was made from the home about 1 a.m. Sept. 29.

Investigators found at the scene a blood splatter, a bloody handprint and a blood-stained, 10-inch piece of wood with a one-inch nail protruding from the wood.

Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.