Father, relative charged in 10-year-old's scalding death

[Bling]

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A 10-year-old disabled girl severely burned by scalding bath water died after going more than a week without medical treatment, authorities said Tuesday. Her father and a female relative were charged in her death.

"If you'd see the photos and the condition that she was left in -- just to lay in that bed with all those burns," said Police Chief Charles Kellar. "I mean, it was horrible."

Quiniece Lockett was blind, partially paralyzed and had cerebral palsy, Kellar said.

Police said her father, Shaun A. Lockett, 32, and another relative, Lashawn S. Brown, 27, were charged with criminal homicide, endangering a child's welfare and two counts of conspiracy. They were being held without bail. The Dauphin County Prison listed Lockett's first name as Shawn.

Kellar said Quiniece was burned over nearly half her body during a bath that Brown gave her April 21, but no medical help was summoned until she became unresponsive Sunday. Quiniece was declared dead at a hospital, and an autopsy performed Monday concluded she died of complications from burns.

"Apparently the water had to be extremely, extremely hot," Kellar said. "We're looking into, right now, whether the water heater could have heated the water that hot or whether there was hot water added."

Lockett and Brown told investigators they had taken the girl to Harrisburg Hospital, but the hospital had no record of it and said her injuries would have required an immediate transfer to a burn center, Kellar said.

"I guess they bought some salves and tried to put salve on her," he said.

Brown was the girl's paid caregiver and did not have any other employment, Kellar said. He did not know the whereabouts of Quiniece's mother.

Brown, Lockett, Quiniece and four other children moved to Harrisburg from Ohio about a year ago, said police Capt. Cindy Baldwin. The other children were turned over to Dauphin County child welfare authorities.

Brown and Lockett had not obtained lawyers to speak for them when they were arraigned, Baldwin said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/01/sca....ap/index.html