PHOENIX (KPHO)
Phoenix police have arrested four family members in connection with the death of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found in a plastic container July 12.
Police arrested two cousins of Ame Deal and charged them with her murder. Her grandmother and aunt were also arrested and were charged with neglect and fabricating the story.
Police did not identify the family members by name, but said the aunt was the child's legal guardian.
According to police, Ame Deal had been abused for a long time, and had been locked in a chest as punishment.
Police said that on the night she died, her family claimed she stole a popsicle from the refrigerator and had to do back bends for two hours before she was locked in the container by her cousins.
Initial reports from someone at the home on July 12 claimed the child went missing while playing a game of hide-and-seek.