close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

Former DCF employee accused of abusing, killing adopted daughter in Sebring: ‘Horrible crime’
aecifo

Former DCF employee accused of abusing, killing adopted daughter in Sebring: ‘Horrible crime’

A woman who has already worked for Florida Department of Children and Families and was guardian ad litem is accused of murdering his adopted daughter in ‘one of the worst crime scenes’ Highland County The sheriff never saw it.

Deputies said when they were called to a home in the Sun ‘n Lake community of Sebring shortly after midnight Friday, they found a 13-year-old girl unresponsive on the floor next to the front door. She was pronounced dead by emergency medical services.

READ: Victim robbed at gunpoint after attending friend’s memorial at Polk County park: PCSO

According to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, the child’s foster mother, Diana Natasha Mack, 34, told deputies she found the girl unconscious Thursday morning, but later said he was more almost 3 p.m.

The Highlands County Sheriff says it's one of the worst crime scenes he's ever seen.

The Highlands County Sheriff says it’s one of the worst crime scenes he’s ever seen. Image courtesy of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.

Yet investigators say Mack drove the four other children who lived in the home to Titusville and only called for help for the teen who was lying unconscious on the floor after he returned home.

“As bad as this is, it’s only getting worse,” Sheriff Blackman said. “The girl, who was naked except for a diaper, had clearly been severely abused. She was extremely emaciated and clearly malnourished. Her body was covered in wounds in all stages of healing, including lacerations open which have clearly been suffered recently.”

READ: 10-time convicted felon accused of stealing $50,000 worth of guns, silver bars and coins from Hillsborough homes

Investigators say the home-schooled teen was restrained in the garage. Detectives are unsure how long she was held there, but it appears she was tied to the garage door and monitored from inside the home by a security camera installed in the garage.

Photo by Natasha Mack, courtesy of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.

Photo by Natasha Mack, courtesy of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.

“As his child lay dead on the floor, the suspect had clearly used pool chlorine in an attempt to destroy evidence in the garage before calling 911,” Sheriff Blackman said. “This is one of the most disturbing crime scenes I have encountered in over 30 years of law enforcement. There are no words I can say that can truly express the nightmare that must have been this child’s life. Parents have a duty to love them. Seeing a child treated this way is not only heartbreaking, but also infuriating. What makes the situation even more appalling is that the suspect is. not only a former employee of the Ministry of Children and Families, but also the Department of Children and Families also worked as a guardian ad litem That someone whose job was to ensure the well-being of children could treat their own child. in this way is simply incredible.

She was charged with first-degree murder while engaging in aggravated child abuse, as well as aggravated child abuse, kidnapping and destruction of evidence.

Natasha Mack is being held without bail in the Highlands County Jail.

Natasha Mack is being held without bail in the Highlands County Jail. Image courtesy of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.

HCSO Critical Incident Stress Management resources are available to all deputies and detectives working this case.

“It’s something that no amount of law enforcement experience can prepare you to deal with,” Blackman said. “I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to ensure justice is served for this child.”

Mack is being held without bail in the Highlands County Jail.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: