Foster Mom Charged After 4-Year-Old Who 'Spoke With Demons' Strangled And Beaten To Death

A woman has been charged with homicide in connection with the death of a 4-year-old child under her care, authorities said.

Lakeisha Sonyae Mitchell, 41, from Titusville, was charged with first-degree murder Friday after a medical examination indicated the child who was found unconscious in a bathtub in the woman's house died of multiple injuries from strangulation and assault.

Mitchell reportedly told the investigators that the girl had been speaking with the demons and had previously sought help with the child for her "extreme behavioral issues," Florida Today reported, citing court records.

The 4-year-old succumbed to death in a hospital on Aug. 25, two days after she was found unconscious in the bathtub. The girl had a bruise on her left eye, face, and multiple scratches on her throat. She also had skin tearing around the rectal area, according to reports. However, the medical examination showed that there was no evidence of drowning as claimed by Mitchell.

Mitchell told the investigators that the girl had thrown herself down and was faking unconsciousness. She said she then placed the fully clothed child in the bathtub filled with water to get her to stop faking unconsciousness. This method worked well to control her temper tantrums in the past when the child "pretended that her legs did not work," Mitchell said, Click Orlando reported.

A witness told the police that the child had no apparent injuries when she was picked up on Aug. 23 from a daycare she was attending. The police initially arrested Mitchell on charges of aggravated child neglect with great bodily harm. She is being held at the Brevard County Jail in Sharpes.

Last week, an Ohio man pleaded guilty to raping and murdering his 10-year-old son, who died after enduring years of extreme abuse and torture while being locked up naked in an attic. The 32-year-old man from Dayton, identified as Al-Mutahan McLean, admitted to the charges in connection with the death of his son Takoda Collins in 2019. According to a medical examination, the child died of blunt force trauma, in combination with compressive asphyxia and submersion in water in a bathtub.