A Cleveland judge set bail at US$2 million (NZ$3.39 million) for a woman accused of killing her two young daughters and burying them in suitcases in shallow graves.
Aliyah Henderson, 28, faces two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Mila Chatman and Amor Wilson, whose bodies were recovered after a dog walker alerted police to one of the suitcases on Monday.
Henderson said little during the brief court appearance. Prosecutors said they found no criminal record for her, and Henderson's public defender said she has a place to live and had been looking for a job.
Mila's father, DeShaun Chatman, described her as happy-go-lucky — a “kid's kid” who was always smiling. He said he hadn't seen Mila for five years and had unsuccessfully sought emergency custody.
Cullen Sweeney, the chief public defender in Cuyahoga County, declined to comment on the case after the hearing. It's not clear who will represent Henderson going forward.
The county Medical Examiner’s Office has said Mila would have been 8 years old, her half-sister Amor 10, and that DNA relationship testing helped identify them. Authorities said a third child, apparently healthy, was in the hands of child welfare authorities after being found in a home that investigators searched.
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