Couple Charged in Death of Daughter, 3, Allegedly Tried to Conceal Her Injuries With Makeup
A Utah couple charged in the death of their 3-year-old daughter videotaped some of the abuse and tried to cover up the child’s injuries with makeup, according to prosecutors.
Miller Costello, 25, and Brenda Emile, 22, have been charged with aggravated murder in connection with the death of their daughter, Angelina Costello.
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The couple allegedly applied makeup to the girl’s face, hands, leg, and neck on July 6 before calling police to tell them Angelina was unconscious and not breathing, according to several reports.
“Officers on scene immediately recognized the child victim had bruising, contusions, lacerations, burns, open sores and abrasions,” according to the probable cause statement.
Emile allegedly admitted to police she used the cosmetics to cover the dead child’s injuries “so they didn’t look so bad," People reported.
Police found that the 3-year-old was already dead when they arrived and had been for quite some time.
“The child victim’s facial features were also sunken in, void of definition from muscle or fat. Some of the child victim’s injuries appeared recent and acute while other injuries appeared to be in various stages of healing,” according to court documents.
Police said they later discovered videos of the parents’ taunting the child with food by presenting it to her and then taking it away and then disciplining her.
Another video allegedly shows Costello using the feet of an infant to kick her daughter in the face, according to reports.
Costello allegedly admitted to police he knew his daughter was not in good health and that Emile had been withholding food from her, according to reports.
He also reportedly told police that Angelina’s abuse happened during interactions with her siblings.
“Brenda told Miller that she did not want to get medical attention for the child victim because she did not want a police investigation or to have her children taken from her,” court documents claim.
The couple was arrested and the three other children in the home were turned over to family services.
Costello and Emile are being held in the Weber County Jail without bail.
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