KC woman faces abuse charges in connection with death of daughter, 2
A Kansas City woman was charged Friday with abuse after her 2-year-old daughter was found dead with burns all over her body.
Marie J. Chishahayo, 35, blamed her 9-year-old son, who she said had burned the 2-year-old with a knife heated on the kitchen stove, according to court documents.
Chishahayo faces additional abuse charges relating to a second child, a 3-year-old girl. Chishahayo is accused of striking the younger children, causing serious injuries, and allowing them to suffer by failing to get them medical help.
Prosecutors requested that bond be set at $250,000.
According to court records, police went Thursday to Chishahayo’s apartment in the 1300 block of Vine Street on a report of a child with burn injuries.
They found the body of the 2-year-old, identified in court documents as C.E. The 3-year-old, identified as E.E., was taken to a hospital.
Two more children — the 9-year-old boy and a 5-month-old — also were found inside the apartment.
A man who identified himself as Chishahayo’s brother told police he had seen the mother and her four children on Feb. 26 and hadn’t noticed any problems.
A church van tried to pick up the family on Sunday, but no one answered the door. Chishahayo also didn’t answer repeated phone calls from family during the week.
Her brother told police he went to the apartment Thursday with his two children. Chishahayo’s 9-year-old boy answered the door. The house was in disarray.
The man’s two children tried to go upstairs, but Chishahayo said her other children were sleeping.
The man went up the stairs and saw that one of the bedrooms was locked. When Chishahayo let him inside, he found E.E. under a blanket. As he lifted the blanket, the girl reportedly said, “Mommy, you’re hurting me, stop it.”
The man then found the body of the 2-year-old girl.
Chishahayo initially told police that she had not struck the girls, according to court documents. She said the 9-year-old boy had struck the two “because God told him to do it.”
She said she saw the 9-year-old pick up the 2-year-old and throw the girl against the wall several times, according to court records.
She said the 9-year-old said that “God told him to punish the girl,” so he heated up a knife on the stove and burned the 2-year-old girl all over her body.
The woman told police she allowed him to do this because God had told him to do so.
She eventually told investigators that she had struck the 2-year-old using a long plastic rod. She said she also hit the 3-year-old because the girl would not get out of bed.
To reach Glenn E. Rice, call 816-234-4341 or send email to grice@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "KC woman faces abuse charges in connection with death of daughter, 2."