Girl's body kept in refrigerator 4½ months

Shadow Melendez, 6, ﻿stands outside the house where Ayahna Comb's body was found June 9 in her mother's refrigerator. Shadow Melendez, 6, ﻿stands outside the house where Ayahna Comb's body was found June 9 in her mother's refrigerator. Photo: Johnny Hanson Photo: Johnny Hanson Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Girl's body kept in refrigerator 4½ months 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

The little girl went to the refrigerator in her southwest Houston apartment, in search of a snack - perhaps some fruit or milk.

But when the 5-year-old opened the door, she saw the body of her older sister, wrapped in one of her blankets, a child advocate caseworker said in a custody hearing Wednesday.

It was the latest, most grisly twist in the case of Ayahna Comb, a 9-year-old with cerebral palsy whose body was found Monday in a refrigerator. The detail elicited gasps and sobs from Ayahna's family members, who were in court seeking custody of the younger girl.

The saga began on Monday after police were called to the apartment of 34-year-old Amber Keyes in the Happy Home Apartments in the 10100 block of Club Creek. Keyes lived there with her two daughters.

Police said they received a call after a neighbor, who had become concerned after not seeing Ayahna for several months, entered Keyes' apartment and found the girl in her refrigerator, dead and wrapped in blankets.

"There were concerns that the child had been in the refrigerator for some time," said Cora Christiaans, from Child Protective Services.

The curly-haired girl all but slipped off the face of the earth. In court, authorities said Ayahna hadn't been to school or seen a doctor in two years. Investigators said relatives hadn't seen her since late last year.

Keyes told authorities that on Jan. 29, about 3 in the morning, she found Ayahna not breathing, the caseworker said. The mother tried CPR.

"She stated that as 6 a.m. approached, … she placed the deceased child in her bed and covered her with a blanket and took her sibling off to school," Christiaans said. "After that, she sat with the deceased child's body for some time, and then decided to clear out a drawer in the refrigerator and place her body in there."

First child taken away

Keyes had come under CPS scrutiny before. In 2002, agency spokeswoman Estella Olguin said, another case arose involving her then 1-year-old daughter.

In that instance, CPS received a report that the man Keyes was dating was abusing the girl, Olguin said Wednesday.

"The mom didn't do what she needed to do to demonstrate she would be able to protect her," Olguin said.

In 2004, a relative adopted the child and the agency closed the case, she said. "After 2004, we had no further dealings with this mom, and that was prior to Ayahna being born or her 5-year-old sister."

Why Keyes placed her daughter in the refrigerator is unclear, but one psychology professor said her previous experience with CPS could have contributed.

"The CPS system is one that inspires deep-seated anxiety and fear in parents who have been involved in the system before," said Susan Henney, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Houston-Downtown and a former CPS caseworker.

But there are bigger questions, Henney said: "Why didn't anyone notice she was gone? Where did we go wrong?"

Medical examiners told CPS that Ayahna's body was emaciated and thin, weighing just 14 pounds when she was found, Christiaans said, under questioning from Danielle Davis, an assistant county attorney. They also said the body was in the beginning stages of decomposition, she said.

When Ayahna's sister found the body is unclear.

The news left Comb's family distraught.

"I've been asking Amber different things about my niece, and all she's been saying is 'She's OK.' It really affected me someone could lie for so long," Ayahna's aunt, Kleyahla Richardson, said Wednesday evening.

Keyes was not in court and did not answer calls seeking comment.

She voluntarily went to police and gave a statement to investigators Tuesday night, said Kese Smith, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department. Keyes is cooperating with the investigation and has not been charged, he said.

"(The detectives) are going to finish their investigation before anyone is charged," he said.

Nevertheless, the circumstances surrounding Ayahna's death led CPS to seek custody of her sister.

Keyes and the girls' father, Armand Comb, began dating about 10 years ago but split up about six years ago, said Kathy Comb, his mother.

Family visits ceased

In photos from happier times, the girl could be seen with her relatives in the modified stroller they used to push her around.

But shortly after Christmas, Ayahna's mother stopped bringing her to family gatherings, and Christiaans said no one in Comb's family had seen her in five or six months.

The younger girl often visited her father's relatives. They saw Ayahna less frequently, one family member said.

Kathy Comb, the girl's paternal grandmother, said she was devastated by Ayahna's death.

Armand Comb had told reporters he had last seen Ayahna about two months ago. In court, he repeated that assertion, which brought head shakes from several relatives, who said he had suffered a seizure about that time that left him hospitalized for two weeks.

"He doesn't know," said Sandra Gill Clark, a family member, explaining that the seizure had left him with memory problems.

Comb also told Judge David Farr that he had several arrests for cocaine use and suffered from anxiety and depression. He had hoped that his family could take custody of his younger daughter, but CPS said his criminal background as well as the fact that two people living in his house had criminal backgrounds were reasons it was seeking custody of the child.

"All these factors, we do take them into consideration," said Olguin.

Another hearing is scheduled for June 19.

"CPS is making it seem like we brushed (Ayahna) off," Richardson said Wednesday. "I kept asking about her, but (Amber) always told me she was with a family member."

Dale Lezon contributed to this report.