Daughter, 4, last seen in September, found dead in Charlotte yard; mother arrested

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TCD) --

A North Carolina woman was arrested for murder after police say her missing 4-year-old daughter’s remains were found at her house on Friday night.

Detectives began investigating reports that a 4-year-old girl had not been seen in several months, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said on Friday. Tips and evidence led investigators to suspect foul play may have been involved, police said. Homicide detectives then joined the investigation.

Multiple people voluntarily came to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department during the day on Friday, including the girl’s mother, identified as 31-year-old Malikah Bennett. Bennett was interviewed by detectives, who then arrested her as a suspect in the case.

Investigators later searched a residence on the 3700 block of Braden Drive, near Firestone Park, and found human remains believed to belong to the missing 4-year-old girl.

Bennett was transferred to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, where she was charged with first-degree murder; felony child abuse; inflicting physical injury; and felony concealment of a death. She was held without bond on the murder charge.

WBTV-TV reports the 4-year-old girl was last seen at Bennett’s residence in September. She was reportedly visiting, but further circumstances of the relationship were not reported.

The girl’s remains were found in the back yard at the house, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a Monday news conference. Detectives believe she had been buried since September.

The girl’s cause of death was not released pending the medical examiner’s report. “The totality of the circumstances indicate it is her,” police said.

Police said a male also lived at the Braden Drive house, but they "definitively" believe that man was not responsible for the girl’s death.

MORE: