3-Year-Old's Body Found In Trash Can Outside Home, Grandmother Arrested

Oklahoma City -- A 3-year-old girl was found dead inside a trash can in Oklahoma. The child's grandmother was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death.

The Oklahoma City Police Department responded to a “trouble unknown call” and arrived at the house in Oklahoma City. They found the body of the toddler, Riley Nolan in a “residential trash receptacle” at the house, the police department said in a statement on Facebook.

Investigators said Nolan was found in the trash can Saturday but her death was only reported Tuesday, as per KKTV. It was Nolan’s grandfather who reportedly called 911 when he found out about the death.

Nolan was placed in the custody of her grandmother, 60-year-old Becky Ann Vreeland, before the child's body was discovered. Vreeland told cops that she did not inform authorities about her granddaughter’s death because she wanted her son to have a normal Father’s Day with his other children. Riley's father was supposed to be released from jail, according to KOCO 5 News.

Vreeland told investigators that she didn’t find Nolan in bed Saturday morning. She claimed she searched for the child and found her body outside in the trash can.

Four other adults and Nolan’s two siblings were also living in the same house when the child was found dead in the trash can.

Investigators spoke to Nolan’s siblings, who said they saw her in bed Saturday morning. Apart from the fact that Nolan was not waking up, the siblings also noticed that she had a purple eye and a bruise on her forehead.

Investigators found blood in Vreeland’s bathroom.

“The child had obvious signs of trauma to her body. The child had recently been in the custody of her grandmother,” the police department said.

The medical examiner found three skull fractures in the child's head that suggested she fell before her death.

The news of the little girl’s death left neighbors shocked. "I’d hear them in the backyard playing a lot," one neighbor, Paul Newmark, told KOCO 5 News.

"It’s impossible to understand. It’s been perfectly quiet," Newmark added.

The neighbor said they would have alerted the authorities if they saw any signs.

"Obviously, we would’ve called if we would’ve suspected something like that was going on. It’s just a shock and just having kids of my own, it's just – it’s just so hard to believe," Newmark added.

Another neighbor, Marsha Brannum, told the outlet, “You ask yourself ‘could I have done something?’ or ‘could I have maybe offered more help?”

Vreeland was booked into the Cleveland County Jail without bond.