HOUSTON — A Texas mother is behind bars after Houston police said she fatally beat her young daughter, then falsely claimed that the girl had fallen from a balcony.
According to KPRC, Andrea Webb, 21, of Houston, was charged Monday with serious bodily injury to a child in connection with the death of 5-year-old Samantha Bell. Webb likely will face a murder charge after an autopsy reveals the girl's cause of death, officials said.
Police said Webb eventually changed her story, admitting that she had beaten the girl with a belt after making her "sit against a wall without the support of a seat," KPRC reported. During the beating, Webb also told her boyfriend, who was not identified, to get a thicker belt from one of her neighbors, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In a 911 call late Saturday, Webb said Samantha had fallen from a second-floor balcony at their Houston apartment building, KPRC reported. But detectives said the girl's wounds didn't support Webb's claim.
Webb is being held on $50,000 bond, KPRC reported. Police also arrested her boyfriend on a parole violation, the Chronicle reported.