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4-Year-Old Worcester Girl Dies, Mother, Boyfriend Charged

WORCESTER (CBS/AP) - A Worcester woman and her boyfriend have been arrested after the woman's 4-year-old daughter died.

Police say they found the girl unresponsive at the couple's home on West Boylston Drive at about 5:45 p.m. Thursday. She was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

"My daughter is clumsy,and often walks into walls." That's how Lymari Acevedo explains her daughter's death to police.

Thursday night, Worcester police were called to Acevedo's apartment. Inside, the 4-year-old was unresponsive.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports.

Acevedo's boyfriend, Richard Castillo, told police when he found the little girl unconscious, he slapped her on the back. But, the 4-year-old was found with bruises covering her body, "from her chest to her feet," according to the police report.

Lymari Acevedo told police she sometimes spanks the girl, "but when informed of the hand print on the girl's back, Lymari remembered that she may have missed a couple of times, and struck the girl in the back," according to the police report.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports

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The police report also found, "the victim had fried blood around her nose, wet hair, urine soaked underwear, and rigor had begun to set in."

The couple is being held without bail.

The deceased girl is not the biological daughter of Castillo. But, the couple does have a 6-month-old, who is now in state care.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields contributed to this report.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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