A Maryland woman, aged 24, is now facing murder charges following the tragic death of her 5-week-old daughter earlier this December.
Destiny Faith Chiveral has been formally accused of murder along with child abuse resulting in death, among other serious charges.
The incident came to light when authorities received a 911 call shortly after 9 a.m. on December 4. Emergency responders arrived at the scene, where they sadly found the infant deceased, as reported by WBFF.
Following an autopsy that revealed signs of trauma, investigators obtained warrants to search Chiveral’s phone, personal belongings, and two residences, resulting in her subsequent arrest.
As detailed by the Cecil Whig, medical professionals discovered the infant had suffered blunt force trauma, leading to “bleeding to the back of the brain.” This evidence contradicted Chiveral’s claim that her daughter had suffocated after slipping between couch cushions. Experts further stated that the injuries were far too severe to be the result of a mere fall from the couch.
The charging documents revealed more injuries, including a significant bruise beneath the scalp near the forehead, two bruises on the right buttocks, a “small laceration” inside the upper lip, and a “small abrasion” on the right side of the face.
The documents say that Maryland State Police detectives found videos recorded on Chiveral’s cell phone in the overnight before the baby was found dead that show she “became intoxicated” while alone in the townhome with the baby.
“A majority of the videos appear to be outgoing Snapchat videos from Chiveral to others,” the probable cause statement says.
The baby can be heard crying in the background of several of the videos, which were recorded between about 11:30 p.m. on December 3 and 1:30 a.m. the next morning.
In one video segment, Chiveral struggles with a baby gate.
“I’m too (expletive) drunk for that. I’m just going to (expletive) climb over the (expletive) (expletive),” the document says.
“Chiveral says, while in the bathroom, ‘I don’t know if you hear the (expletive) baby trippin’ in the background’ while a baby can still be heard crying,” according to the charging document.
Chiveral told detectives she did have a drink on the night of December 3 and later a shot of vodka. But, she said, she was sober the entire night.
A witness, however, reported finding ” nearly empty bottle of vodka” on the kitchen table when Chiveral called her downstairs on the morning of December 4.
“Witness 1 indicated that this bottle of vodka belonged to her and that she last left it in the freezer a number of days prior,” the statement says. “Witness 1 stated that this bottle was nearly full when she placed it previously into the freezer, and that the bottle of vodka was not on the kitchen table the night prior.”
An another interview after receiving autopsy results, Chiveral told detectives she “never did anything to her” and would “never do that,” the documents say.
She suggested that she may have accidentally kicked the baby while she slept, or that she may have inadvertently hurt the baby while sleepwalking. She further suggested that her older child, a toddler, is often rough with the baby and is “untrustworthy.”
Chiveral is currently being held without bond in the Cecil County Detention Center, according to WBFF.
