The gruesome details surrounding Gabby Barrett's death in Michigan emerged after her mother Candice Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend Brad Fields, 28, were captured by police. Photo / Supplied
The gruesome details surrounding Gabby Barrett's death in Michigan emerged after her mother Candice Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend Brad Fields, 28, were captured by police. Photo / Supplied
WARNING - DISTURBING CONTENT
Newly released dash cam footage shows the moment a Michigan couple named responsible in the "worst child abuse death" a medical examiner has seen in decades were captured.
Sumpter Township mother Candice Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend, Brad Fields, 28, were charged Saturday in the murderof Diaz's four-year-old daughter, Gabrielle Barrett.
Court documents revealed Gabrielle was found with several burns and bruises covering her body when she was found in cardiac arrest. Photo / Facebook
Video shows the couple being arrested Tuesday after they were tracked down on a highway in Lake Park, Georgia.
The "mentally ill" pair are accused in the homicide of the child - who died January 1 after she was left in a burning bath while her mother was allegedly making pancakes in the next room.
The child was found by police New Year's Day in the bathroom of a mobile home, where her seared skin was seen in the drain and her big toe fell off from the alleged abuse, officials said.
Court documents revealed Gabrielle was found with several burns and bruises covering her body when she was found in cardiac arrest, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Diaz claimed she gave the child two separate baths - one on New Year's Eve, which the child allegedly started herself, and one more the next day - both of which the child became burned.
"The mother claimed she ran Gabrielle's bath and placed Gabrielle into the tub after she filled the tub halfway," a petition filed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services read of her last bath.
"The mother then claimed she left Gabrielle alone in the tub and went to the kitchen to make pancakes," when the child died.
Gabrielle Barrette was found by police New Year's Day in the bathroom of a mobile home. Photo / Facebook
Diaz came back and discovered her daughter drowned in the tub. When she pulled her out, she vomited, the MailOnline reported.
She then called boyfriend Fields for assistance, who attempted to revive the child with CPR which was a failure.
The mother waited nearly 40 minutes before she called 911.
Gabrielle died after she was transported to nearby hospital. Washentaw County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide.
The said petition filed by the department sought custody of Gabrielle's infant half-sister, which was approved.
The couple both claimed they were previously diagnosed with a number of mental illnesses, court documents state.
Diaz said was diagnosed with "bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety," the petition said, according to the Free Press.
Candice Diaz and her boyfriend Brad Fields were arrested Tuesday in Lake Park, Georgia. They were charged over the murder of Diaz's four-year-old daughter. Photo / Lowndes County Sheriff's Office
Fields claimed he was diagnosed with social anxiety, agoraphobia, (a type of anxiety disorder), post-traumatic stress disorder and schizoaffective disorder.'
During a search, authorities also found cocaine inside the house. The couple claim they were not taking medication for their alleged mental illnesses.
The biological father of the late Gabrielle is not connected in the murder case that occurred inside Diaz's mobile home.
Kyle Barrett told the Free Press he was 'homeless' and 'jobless' at the time he failed to pay child support for his daughter and turned himself in back the fall - the last time he got to hold Gabrielle.
He was released from jail two days following the death of his daughter.
"I got to give her a kiss and a hug and say I loved her," dad Barrett said of the last time he saw his daughter in September.
Fields and Diaz both face felony murder, second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse and torture charges, a judge announced during their arraignment.
