WASHINGTON — A 4-year-old girl, whose mother told police the child had been kicked in the stomach as punishment for failing to brush her teeth, has died, according to Montgomery County police.
Four-year-old Nohely Alexandra Martinez Hernandez died Wednesday at Children’s National Medical Center.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, police said they got a call from the girl’s mother, 20-year-old Iris Hernandez Rivas, who told them the girl had been found face down in the shower, unresponsive.
Police say Hernandez Rivas originally told them the girl entered the bathroom on her own and turned on the shower. It wasn’t until 15 to 20 minutes later that Rivas told police she went to check on the girl and saw the child face down. Hernandez Rivas said she waited one hour before calling 911.
After an examination at a Rockville hospital showed that the little girl had suffered head trauma and had multiple bruises on her body, she was flown by helicopter to Children’s National Medical Center in D.C. where she later died.
During an interview on Thursday, Jan. 27, Hernandez Rivas told police she had become angry with the girl for not brushing her teeth, and kicked the child in the abdomen. That led Nohely to fall and hit her head against a wall. Hernandez Rivas told police the old bruises on the child’s body were from an incident days before, when she hit the child with a belt.
Hernandez Rivas is being held without bond in the case.
