Grandmother says she wants answers after granddaughter's death

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Mooresville Police said Nicholas Burnette Clark, 22, and Sheila Amanda Hendley, 21, have been arrested in South Carolina for first-degree murder and two counts of felony child abuse.

Police were sent to their Sharpe Street home in Mooresville in March 2012 to investigate the death of their 2-year-old child.

Police are still not releasing the name of the child who died, but her grandmother says her name was Lucy.

Nicole Lee said she will never forget the last time she saw her granddaughter, a little less than a year ago. Two weeks later, she said she learned Lucy had died. At the time, she said her son, Nicholas Clark, told her Lucy fell off the bed.

Neighbors said they remember seeing police investigate.

"After I saw them bring the mattress out, I thought something happened to one of the kids," said Patty Roth, a neighbor.

Now police say Clark and Hendley have been arrested for murder and child abuse. Police said the second felony abuse charge is for their other daughter. Lee said the 5-year-old girl is with a foster family in Mooresville. Lee said she is trying to get custody of her.

"Because that's the only one I have left and I just want her home," Lee said.

At the same time, she says she wants answers. Lee said she is shocked by the allegations against her son and the children's mother. She says she has no idea what happened that night.

"Something happened, something went drastically wrong, and I just want to know what happened to my grandchild," Lee said.

Clark and Hendley's former landlord told Eyewitness News that things seemed fine whenever he went over to fix things at the house. Neighbors say they didn't know much about the couple, and they kept to themselves.

"It's heartbreaking, because you don't know what goes on behind closed doors," Roth said.

There still is no word on when Clark and Hendley will be extradited back to North Carolina.

WSOC