A sick New Jersey couple accused of murdering their 9-year-old daughter are now reportedly being investigated over claims that they also viciously abused her, including having her homeschooled so no one would “see the bruises.”
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one → accuse → bruises
Mom India L. Miller, 27, and stepfather Sean D. Scott, 45, called 911 around 1:10 a.m. and claimed their daughter, Maya Thomas, had been hit by a car while she was out walking the family dog in Paulsboro, NJ.com reported Thursday, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.
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NJ.com → call → Office
Responding officers found Thomas unresponsive inside the home with facial trauma and bruising on her body, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the outlet.
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Thomas → respond → outlet
Miller said her daughter had gone out to walk their dog when she “heard a loud sound, similar to tires screeching” and then found her by the shed and brought her inside, court documents said.
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documents → say → her
However, investigators said Thomas would have sustained different injuries if she had been hit by a car — and ultimately determined she was not hit by a vehicle, the outlet reported.
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outlet → say → vehicle
The girl was rushed to Cooper Hospital where she died around 6:45 p.m.
Hospital staff discovered injuries to her vaginal area, NJ.com reported Friday.
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NJ.com → rush → area
Thomas’ autopsy revealed several injuries — abrasions to her inner thigh, a ruptured colon, multiple broken ribs and her eyes were swollen shut.
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eyes → reveal → thigh
The little girl’s 4-year-old sibling, who shares a different father, told cops that Scott hit the girl in the face and that she was hit by a Paulsboro police car, the affidavit said.
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affidavit → share → car
Investigators discovered what appeared to be blood on the tile surrounding the tub in the family’s upstairs bathroom where wet and bloody children’s clothing were also found.
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clothing → discover → bathroom
And blood was also found on a Swiffer mop and other cleaning supplies, authorities said.
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authorities → find → mop
The couple were each slapped with a slew of charges including murder, endangering and abuse/neglect of a child, filing a false police report and hindering prosecution, according to online records for the Salem County jail.
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couple → slap → jail
A spokesperson for the New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency confirmed Friday that it’s investigating both physical and sexual abuse allegations.
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it → confirm → allegations
The department was first alerted about the alleged abuse on Tuesday after the county prosecutor’s office called the New Jersey Child Abuse Hotline.
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office → alert → Hotline
Thomas was homeschooled “because they didn’t want anybody to see the bruises,” her maternal grandmother Lynn Miller told the outlet Thursday.
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grandmother → homeschoole → outlet
The Miller matriarch said she raised Thomas from the time she was 18 months until she was 7-years-old in Las Vegas, until the little girl moved with her mother to New Jersey to live with Scott.
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girl → say → Scott
Lynn Miller said her daughter cut off contact around two years ago, which prevented her from speaking regularly with her granddaughter.
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which → say → granddaughter
“She was a happy, carefree girl,” the grieving grandmother said.
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grandmother → grieve → ?
The sick couple are being held at the Salem County jail and are scheduled to appear before a state judge on Tuesday.
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couple → hold → Tuesday
Thomas’ sibling, meanwhile, is in the care of child protection, the department spokesperson confirmed.
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spokesperson → confirm → protection
The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency did not respond to The Posts’s requests for more information.
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Office → respond → information
The Aporia
