FLORIDA: A woman was charged with murder after she punished her cousin by sitting on her, causing the child to go into cardiac arrest, reported The Washington Post on Tuesday (Oct 17).



Veronica Posey, 64, told investigators she decided to sit on her cousin, Dericka Lindsay, because the nine-year-old was misbehaving. The girl's mother had asked Posey for help to discipline her daughter as she was having trouble with Dericka's behavior.





According to the Pensacola News Journal, the girl's father said Posey was sitting on Dericka for 10 minutes before the child said she was not able to breathe. Posey, who weighed 140kg did not stand up immediately after the child complained, sitting on her for another two more minutes.

The arrest report showed that the girl was unconscious by the time Posey stood up.

Posey, who weighed four times more than the 33kg child, had allegedly struck the child with a ruler and metal pipe before the incident happened. Dericka ran toward an armchair, where Posey subsequently sat on her.

When she realized her cousin was unconscious, Posey called 911 and performed CPR. However the girl died less than half an hour later after she was taken to a hospital.



Posey was charged with second-degree murder and aggravated abuse, while the girl's parents - who were at home when the incident happened - have been charged with child neglect.