The stepmom of a 10-year-old girl, who was found in a garbage bag in the shed behind their house, allegedly admitted to killing the child, but couldn’t explain why.
According to court documents obtained by People, 34-year-old Amanda Carmack told investigators that she was the one who killed 10-year-old Skylea Carmack. As the documents state, Amanda told authorities that “she was very angry” with Skylea after arguing over a charm bracelet she reportedly stole from one of her siblings.
However, when asked for more details into why she would take her stepdaughter’s life, Amanda reportedly told police that she couldn’t remember much other than “being on top of the child, who was lying on her back.”
The affidavit reads:
“She started choking her with her hands then she thinks she tied something around her neck.”
As Dearly previously reported, Amanda initially reported Skylea missing on August 31 before her body was discovered by search and rescue teams on September 4.
Also, inside the trash bag where Skylea’s body was found was a “blanket, a pillow, and a backpack.”
At the time of Skylea’s passing, six other children were living in the home and being cared for by Amanda. All of those children were removed from the home and placed under the custody of the Department of Child Services.
JUST IN: Shortly after 3AM, police found the body of 10-year-old Skylea Carmack.
She was found in a trash bag in a shed behind her Gas City home.
Her step-mom 34-year old Amanda Carmack has been arrested for her murder.
Police to give an update within a few mins.
Skylea’s father and Amanda’s husband, Kevin, told Fox 59 that his daughter was at home with her stepmom on Saturday while he was at work.
Police said it was days after Skylea’s body was discovered that Amanda walked into the local police station and confessed to the crime. The stepmom has since been charged with murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, domestic battery resulting in death, and strangulation.
The documents further state that an autopsy revealed that the “something” Amanda thinks she tied around the girl’s neck was a pair of pants.
Investigators who talked with Amanda’s other children reportedly described the 34-year-old as a “strict disciplinarian,” who would strike them with a belt as punishment:
“They stated that when they were in trouble, they would have to stand with their faces against the wall with their hands in the air. Sometimes they would remain in this position for hours.”
Kevin’s mother, Brenda Helmuth, told Fox 59 she always had a sinking feeling about her son’s wife:
“I’ve always said that there was something wrong. They used to let us in the house, nobody can go in the house, you don’t think about that, you know? Skylea got thinner.”
Helmuth also said that Amanda used to watch her adopted 3-year-old son, and when he would come home from her house, he would say, “Amanda is mean.” Now, the grandmother said her son is blaming himself, wondering why his children didn’t come to him and open up about the abuse.
Helmuth said she wants their story to be a lesson to others:
“If you think anything, it doesn’t hurt to make a phone call, just for safety reasons. And if anybody would get upset about that, then there is something wrong. If I checked it out, maybe Skylea would be alive.”
Amanda has not entered plea deal as of September 9. She is currently being held without bail.
As WIBC reports, the Indiana woman told a judge that she “doesn’t need a lawyer” and will be representing herself, as prosecutors say they will be fighting for life in prison without the possibility of parole.
