Malaya Heun was 15 months old when she died on Jan. 22.
Story Highlights
The 15-month-old girl had a broken collarbone and numerous broken ribs in various stages of healing, including five fresh fractures.
Statement from Kannapolis police chief
Kannapolis police chief Woody Chavis issued the following statement Thursday evening:
"This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I have seen in over 30 years being a police officer. I have seen many abused and battered children during my career, but this one makes me sick to my stomach knowing how much this baby girl must have suffered before she died.
I have never wanted to arrest a suspect(s) any more in my career. My investigators have worked so hard on this case and everyone of them has a picture of Malaya hanging over their desk. This has been, and will be a priority for us until justice is served in this case.
We wait everyday to hear from the District Attorney that we can move forward and arrest who is determined to be responsible for this terrible crime. We are talking with the DA on a daily basis coordinating our efforts.
I pray every night that tomorrow will be the day that justice is served. My investigators are ready to move forward as soon as we get authorization from the District Attorney.
We will get justice for little Malaya. I promise.
I want to thank the family and the community for their patience during this process. No one is more frustrated than we are to get this resolved."
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- A recently released autopsy report shows the 15-month-old Kannapolis girl who died in January suffered repeated physical abuse before her death, but medical examiners found no evidence of sexual abuse.
