Tulalip mother charged with murdering her daughter
May 15, 2013, 5:46 AM | Updated: 6:24 am
A Tulalip woman is charged with murdering her own daughter, after leaving the little girl to die in her car.
The 19-month-old girl was found unconscious and covered in urine and feces when she was discovered at the Tulalip Reservation on October 8, 2012. Paramedics tried CPR, but were not able to revive her.
According to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner, she was malnourished and dehydrated, weighing just 19 pounds. She was infested with lice and maggots.
Her 33-month-old sister was also in the vehicle. She was pale and unresponsive, but after being taken to the hospital she has been able to recover.
The U.S. Attorney has filed one count of second degree murder and two counts of criminal mistreatment against the girls’ mother, 37-year-old Tulalip Tribal Member Christina Carlson.
The FBI and Tulalip Tribal Police investigated the case. They believe Carlson had been living in the car with the two girls for about a month.
On the day they were discovered, she allegedly left the girls alone for about an hour to use a neighbor’s phone. When Carlson got back and realized her younger daughter was unresponsive, she returned to that house and asked the neighbor to call 911.
Carlson will be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Seattle on May 23. She is currently being held at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.
