OKLAHOMA CITY – Police say a 3-year-old Oklahoma girl’s death is being investigated as a homicide.
Lola Caplan was rushed to the hospital from her northwest Oklahoma City apartment complex Thursday morning, according to KFOR.
“It was discovered that the child had injuries consistent with child abuse,” said Officer Megan Morgan with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
The child's mother, Alexis Caplan, was arrested for enabling child abuse. Her domestic partner, Baylee Sowards, will be booked for child abuse.
Baylee Sowards
“And of course, what rolls through my mind is what else could I have done?” a neighbor who didn't want to be identified told KFOR.
She said she called police on her downstairs neighbors over Easter weekend.
“It sounded like a masculine voice – not yelling but screaming – and then I heard a child screaming. It was not an ordinary (scream) — I knew something else was happening,” the unidentified neighbor told KFOR. “I really don’t have any use for child abusers, and I really only hope they get what’s coming to them."
Another neighbor said he was shocked to find out about the child's death after seeing police.
“I mean, its gut-wrenching,” said Jacob Rutter. “It’s heart-breaking to hear that a defenseless toddler could be subject to such violence and just such evil.”
Sowards and Caplan were booked at the Oklahoma County Jail. Bond was set at $250,000 each.
