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North Carolina Woman Charged With Murder Of Boyfriend's 4-Year-Old
Chelsea Lee Crompton, 34, is accused of murdering Hazel Lidey, who was found with "bruising all over the body" and "trauma-related injuries" by Catawba County Sheriff's Office Deputies.
A North Carolina woman charged with murder in the death of her boyfriend's 4-year-old daughter made her first court appearance on Monday.
Chelsea Lee Crompton, 34, is accused of murdering Hazel Lidey, 4, who was found with "bruising all over the body" and "trauma-related injuries" by Catawba County Sheriff's Office Deputies at a home on Hill Haven Drive in Vale at approximately 2:12 pm on Nov. 17, according to an affidavit in a search warrant of the home obtained by Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC.
The little girl succumbed to her injuries in an area hospital on the morning of Nov. 20, according to the Department. The cause of death is pending a report from the medical examiner.
Currently, Crompton is being held without bail at the Catawba County Detention Facility.
"Our communities have been shocked by the senseless violence that caused Hazel's death," Sheriff Don Brown said in a Nov. 25 press release. "We mourn with the Lidey family as they grieve the loss of their child. Justice for Hazel."
Initially, according to the department, police were called to the home for an overdose. Both Crompton and the child's father, 34-year-old Christopher James Lidey, were in the home when authorities arrived.
However, "neither party was interviewed in-depth because they left the scene and reported to be going to [the area hospital] in Charlotte to be with the child," the affidavit read.
A metal baseball bat, a section cut out from a wall and DNA samples are among the items that investigators took from various locations in the home, according to The Hickory Daily Record.
The local outlet reported that there's audio recordings from the 911 call, in which Crompton can be heard discussing Hazel's breathing with the operator and talking to the injured child.
In District Court on Nov. 28, Crompton asked for a court-appointed attorney and was assigned Victoria Jayne, who could not be reached by Oxygen.com at press time. Crompton is next due in court on Nov. 19.
During her short court appearance, Crompton was informed that she faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or death if she is convicted.
Several of the child's family members became emotional at the hearing, yelling out "baby killer" as Crompton was led out of the courtroom in shackles, according to The Hickory Daily Record.
"We want to get the death penalty," Mary Jackson, the child's grandmother, told the outlet outside the courtroom. "She's going to die. She shouldn't have hurt no little 4-year-old."
Jackson told reporters that Hazel was "the light of [her] life" and "never hurt nobody."
Melissa Caudle, a friend of the Lidey family, told WSOC that Hazel was "a breath of fresh air" and a "beautiful child."
"She was just happy," she told the outlet. "I don't see how anybody could hurt her."
Oxygen.com could not reach the Catawba County Sheriff's Department for comment at press time.
