A Dalton, Ga., woman has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of her 17-month-old daughter, who was found dead Thursday morning.
Catarina Castro Moran, 21, is also charged with first-degree cruelty to children, identity fraud and making false statements to law enforcement officers.
Officers responded to a 6 a.m. call about a dead child at a home in the 500 block of Whitener Drive, according to a news release from the Dalton Police Department.
Officers performed CPR on the child until paramedics arrived, but the victim had already died.
Rigor mortis had begun to set in, leading authorities to believe she died sometime the night before, said Bruce Frazier, a police spokesman.
Catarina Castro MoranMoran told investigators the child had fallen ill Wednesday, but they learned the child had been severely ill with a high fever possibly a week ago.
Investigators also learned Moran had taken the child to a local hospital on Monday but left without having her treated against doctors’ orders.
An exact cause of death is not known.
The victim’s body has been sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy.
Frazier said investigators believe the defendant also has a husband who is living with her in the apartment she rents, but authorities have not yet been able to locate him.
He said the defendant was in possession of identity documents that were not hers, and he believes she may be an undocumented immigrant.