Medics who treated a 4-year-old found bruises on her body. | Mat Napo/Unsplash
Medics who treated a 4-year-old found bruises on her body. | Mat Napo/Unsplash
The death of a 4-year-old in Catawba County is being investigated as law enforcement officers uncovered traumatic injuries to the child.
“Hazel, she was just a breath of fresh air, a beautiful child,” Melissa Caudle, a friend of the family said in a television news report. “She was just happy. I don’t see how anybody could hurt her.”
The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said a call came in Nov. 17 around 2:15 p.m. where an unresponsive 4-year-old girl was reported to be on Hill Haven Drive in Vale. The original call was for a suspected overdose, but medics found bruises on the child, according to a warrant.
“The child was reported by EMS to have suffered trauma-related injuries, due to the presence of bruising all over the body,” the warrant read.
The warrant says deputies cut out a section of a wall inside the home where the 911 call came from. According to court documents, the father and his girlfriend were at the home, and the child, Hazel Lidey, was flown to a hospital in Charlotte that day, where she died four days later.
Deputies said they believe the girl’s death could be the result of a criminal act and they are also working the case around the clock and are waiting for the medical examiner’s report. Investigators have not released any information about possible suspects or pending charges.
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