Fort Lauderdale

Father, Girlfriend Arrested in 2-Year-Old Girl's 2015 Killing: BSO

More than eight months after a 2-year-old Broward County girl was killed, her father and his girlfriend have been arrested in her murder, officials said.

Larry Donte Haynes, 34, and Amber McCray, 23, were arrested Friday in the November 2015 murder of Za'mya Williams, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said.

Haynes and McCray remained behind bars late Friday, jail records showed. It was unknown if they've hired attorneys.

According to an arrest affidavit, Haynes told police he'd found his daughter unresponsive next to him on a bed in his mother's home on Northwest 30th Terrace in unincorporated Fort Lauderdale on the morning of November 19, 2015.

The girl was taken to Plantation Hospital where she was pronounced dead. A pediatrician noted that she had signs of bruising and abrasions on her abdominal area and around her head and neck, and that she was dehydrated and malnourished, the affidavit said.

Haynes said that earlier in the week Za'mya was complaining of abdominal pains and was vomiting and fatigued, the affidavit said. He said she had difficulty eating and drinking for the next couple days then had a "severe bowel movement" the day before her death, the affidavit said.

But the medical examiner later ruled Za'mya's death a homicide, saying she had blunt force trauma to her head and abdomen, the report said. The medical examiner also found that the girl had multiple tears to her liver and a perforated bowel caused by the blunt force trauma, and that the injuries could not have been caused by accidental falls, the report said.

The medical examiner also said Za'mya would have survived if she had received immediate medical treatment, the report said.

The girl's mother and her boyfriend told police that Za'mya would return from visits with Haynes was marks, cuts and bruises on her body, the report said. Authorities said Haynes had abused and neglected his daughter while she was under his supervision, the affidavit said.

"Larry Haynes and Amber McCray failed to call for medical assistance when they clearly had knowledge of the victim's injuries for approximately three and a half days," the affidavit said.

Haynes denied using corporal punishment as a form of discipline, the affidavit said.

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