2 Months After Fla. Girl, 13, Went Missing, Her Guardian and Aunt Are Charged with Murder

Marian Williams, Delia Young and Valerie Young.Photo: Alachua County Sheriff’s Office

A 13-year-old Florida girl was found dead in a field off an interstate weeks after she went missing in May. Now, her stepmother and aunt are charged in connection to her death.

On Thursday, a grand jury in Alachua County indicted Valerie Young, 52, and Marian Williams, 57, of Gainesville, in connection with the death of Delia Young,CBS4 NewsandWCJBreport.

Williams, who is Delia’s stepmother and guardian, and her sister, Valerie Young, who is Delia’s aunt, are charged with first-degree murder, two counts of neglect of a child with great bodily harm, tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest without violence, and making false reports to law enforcement authorities regarding a capital felony, online court records show.

Williams and Delia lived together, the Alachua Sheriff’s Office said,CBS4 Newsreports.

On May 16, Valerie reported that Delia was missing, saying the girl had vanished the night before and that she often ran away,ClickOrlandoreports.

Williams claims she asked Delia if she wanted to go to the hospital, but Williams said the child didn’t want to go, the arrest report says.

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The next morning, Williams found Delia dead in her bedroom, the arrest report says.

A day later, Williams and Valerie put Delia’s body in a bag and drove to a house in Lacrosse, where they left the bag in a bedroom, according to the arrest report.

When they returned to the house on May 18, they said they found the bag outside and that Delia’s body was missing, the arrest report says.

Williams was arrested on May 26 after allegedly confessing to police that she saw Valerie beat Delia to death with an electrical cord, according to the arrest report,The Gainesville Sunreports.

Valerie was also arrested on May 26. At the time the two were charged with manslaughter.

On June 2, authorities found Delia’s body in a field off a highway in Alachua County.

That same month, an Alachua County School District employee toldWCBJthat at least eight allegations of abuse involving Delia were reported over a four-year period to the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and that the “system failed” the child.

“There are many times where she would be limping and complaining of pains in her hip,” the employee told WCBJ. “There was a time that her hand was extremely swollen and she couldn’t use it to write, possibly broken. There were times when her whole back was bruised and scratched up.”

Despite the alleged abuse Delia suffered, she remained “loving,” the educator told WCBJ.

Delia’s step-grandmother, Andrea Williams, toldWCJB, “She liked to giggle. She liked to laugh. She liked to make people happy. She liked to draw. She liked to paint. She liked to do all things that kids like to do.”

At the same time, she said, “All we ever saw was that the little girl was quiet. She never barely talked,” explained Williams. “Everywhere Marian went, she went.”

DCF did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

The two women remain held in the Alachua County Jail without bond. They have not yet entered pleas.

It is unclear if they have lawyers who can speak on their behalf.

source: people.com