Scars, broken bones, open wounds and no food for days: 3 women arrested, charged with murder of 6-year-old girl allegedly kept in dog crate

Three women in North Carolina were arrested and charged with murder and multiple counts of child abuse after a 6-year-old girl died in their east Charlotte home. The three accused were identified as Susan Robinson, 61, Tonya McKnight, 51, and Tery'n McKnight, 22.

They were arrested in late December 2025 after the death of Dominique Moody on December 16, 2025, PEOPLE reported, citing Mecklenburg County public inmate records.

Local news outlet WBTV 3 reported that initially three accused were charged with multiple counts of child abuse, including inflicting serious bodily injury and four counts of misdemeanor child abuse, in December 2025. They were also charged with first-degree murder on February 4, 2026.


The affidavit obtained by PEOPLE revealed that officers responded to a call for medical assistance at 7608 Gwynne Hill Road in Charlotte at around 7:40 a.m. local time on December 16, 2025. The caller told 911 that a child in the home was not breathing.

The child was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:29 a.m. the same morning.

Police reveal details about the deceased child

Giving details about the deceased child, police revealed that hospital staff informed them that the child weighed just 27 lbs. at the time of her death. The affidavit also stated that the 6-year-old apparently also had what appeared to be healed ligature scars on her arms and legs, broken bones, and open wounds on her body.

“The victim’s hair, nails, and body were dirty,” police additionally said, as quoted by PEOPLE. Dominique appeared to have sores around her genitals and buttocks caused by long exposure to soiled diapers, they further stated.

According to the affidavit, police further revealed that the home in which the child was found, where all three adult women lived, “was extremely unkempt, with a strong odor of feces and urine. " Several rats were seen scurrying within the home, and they further stated that the house appeared to have no centralized heating to combat sub-zero winter nights.

Dominique was often kept in a dog crate: Affidavit

Police stated that the four other children lived in the residence along with the victim. When interviewed, the children claimed that Dominique was often kept in a dog crate, according to the affidavit.

Dominique was not given food regularly, says affidavit

More shocking details emerged from the affidavit, including alleged text messages between Dominique’s legal guardian, Susan, and Tonya, which contained photos from November 2025 of the child restrained with duct tape. Messages also apparently indicated that Dominique was not given food regularly, despite there being food at home.

In the documents obtained by WBTV 3, police visited the residence nearly 50 times in the years before Dominique's death, and social workers had received five reports of alleged abuse or neglect.

Mecklenburg District Court Judge Cecilia Oseguera denied bond for all three women on Thursday, February 5, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE and Law&Crime.com. Attorneys for the three defendants did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.