Foster parents plead not guilty to murder of 6-year-old daughter, as court documents describe gruesome abuse allegations – WISH-TV | Indianapolis News | Indiana weather

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(CNN) – Hawaiian couple charged with murdering their adopted 6-year-old daughter pleaded not guilty through a lawyer on Friday, as court documents allege abusive treatment leading to the girl’s death including keeping her in a dog crate to stop her foraging for food.

Isaac and Lehua Kalua both face second degree murder charges in the death of Isabella, known as “Ariel”.

The couple reported Ariel missing on September 13, but investigators believe the girl was killed about a month earlier, when she last appeared on home video surveillance on August 18.

An affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Lehua Kalua filed in Hawaii First Circuit Family Court on Friday describes the horrific conditions police are investigating.

Ariel and several of her siblings have been adopted or are being taken in by the Kaluas, according to documents provided by CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now.

According to the documents, the Kaluas told police that they last saw Ariel on the night of September 12 and that she disappeared from her room the next morning.

But in early November, during an interview with one of Ariel’s siblings about the disappearance, the child told police that they had been “taken by Lehua and Isaac to keep the secret about. what had happened to [Ariel]», Indicate court documents.

The brother said Ariel “was in the bathroom in a dog crate, tape over her mouth and nose, and she did not wake up,” the documents said. The brother told police that Ariel was not breathing and Lehua Kalua then put her in the tub to try to wake her, which did not work. The brother explained to the police that he helped transport his sister to her shared room.

The affidavit states that the child told police they did not know what happened to Ariel after this. Police said his remains had not been found.

The next day, Isaac Kalua went to the emergency room and was seen for “possible symptoms of Covid,” the document said. Brother or sister told police the foster dad was just pretending to have Covid, saying they “knew Isaac was faking” because they thought he quit his job to help Lehua Kalua “to get rid of these things … evidence,” the document reads.

During the police interview, Ariel’s brother told police that Lehua Kalua bought a dog crate online to lock Ariel up at night because the 6-year-old “sneaked up at night and wanted to eat because she was hungry ”. says the document. The child told police that Ariel was often refused food by Lehua Kalua, adding that they did not have a dog at the time.

The couple appeared by video link from the Oahu Community Correctional Center and did not speak, allowing a lawyer to plead not guilty on their behalf.

It is not known who the couple hired as their attorney to represent them in this case. Lawyer William Harrison, a family friend who has spoken on behalf of the Kaluas, told The Associated Press he is not representing them in the case. Harrison told the AP he was “obviously saddened by what is written” in the court file.

CNN contacted Harrison but had no response.

The judge refused bail and the couple are expected to appear in person for their preliminary and probable hearing on November 26.

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