Authorities in Alabama arrested a nurse practitioner accused of purposefully torturing her 12-year-old adopted daughter with the intention of killing her, newly released court records reportedly show.
A grand jury in Jefferson County on Friday indicted 39-year-old Kala K. Blakely, of Trussville on charges of aggravated child abuse and attempted murder involving her adopted daughter, AL. com reported.
According to the report, officers with the Trussville Police Department took Blakely into custody Friday night after a multi-month investigation into allegations that nurse and assistant professor was severely abusing and neglecting the young girl. Blakely, who is married with three other children, had only formally adopted the child a few months ago, per the report.
In the indictment, a copy of which was obtained by AL. com, prosecutors accused Blakely of attempting to “intentionally cause the death” of her daughter “by medical neglect and/or strangulation and/or starvation and/or beating her.”
“[Blakely] did willfully torture [her adopted daughter by] hitting her and/or stomping on her and/or refusing her medical treatment, and/or starving her, with said abuse having taken place on more than one occasion,” the indictment reportedly states.
Trussville Police Chief Eric Rush reportedly announced the arrest over the weekend, saying the investigation into Blakely began on Jan. 21, when the child—whose name is not being reported but who was described as