Memphis babysitters charged with murder after 1-year-old girl died of horrific injuries while in their care

Two babysitters are suspected of beating a little girl so badly that she bled from her rectum and died.

Kiya Moore, 21, and her boyfriend Dejon Smith, 34, were charged with first-degree murder after Moore's one-year-old niece Kali Moore was found dead.

The little girl was admitted to LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis around 3 a.m. Saturday and was pronounced dead at 4:01 a.m., police said.

When examining her body, doctors found that she had suffered a skull and neck fracture, massive bruising on her back, and rectal bleeding.

Further examinations revealed a brain hemorrhage, a kidney contusion, elevated liver enzyme levels indicating abdominal trauma, and blood in the lungs.

Kiya Moore, 21, and her boyfriend Dejon Smith, 34, were charged with first-degree murder. Moore is the baby's aunt

Moore's sister, Kyera Moore, insisted on her sister's innocence in a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts, explaining the bruising and rectal bleeding.

“Please my sister didn't do this…my baby has moles on her back that never go away and the rectal bleeding is from constipation,” she wrote.

Kyera explained that the constipation was so bad that she used Vaseline and gave Kali green vegetables frequently to help her go to the bathroom.

“My sister didn't do anything, that's just the n***a she lives with,” she insisted. Police would not comment on her claims.

Kyera left her daughter, who turned one in June, with the couple at what was believed to be their home around 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Investigators found no baby formula in the home on University Street in Memphis and it was unclear where the baby was sleeping.

Moore's sister Kyera Moore insisted on her sister's innocence in a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts

When examining her body, doctors found that she had suffered a skull and neck fracture, massive bruising on her back, and rectal bleeding.

According to an affidavit for the prosecution, Moore and Smith gave conflicting statements to police after their arrests, blaming each other for Kali's death.

Smith claimed he heard Moore screaming and the baby crying in the back room, and then she slammed Kali onto the floor, walls and wooden furniture six to 10 times.

He explained to the police that when he asked her what she was doing, she replied that it was nothing, the baby was just crying too much and getting on her nerves.

When Smith entered the room, he claimed, Moore stopped and saw that Kali was unresponsive. He began CPR and doused her with cold water.

When Kali didn't wake up, Moore called a family member to take her to the hospital.

Smith claimed that Moore told him that Kali was injured when she fell out of bed and hit her head on the nightstand.

Smith has two children from a previous relationship, one of whom will soon start kindergarten.

Moore claimed she went out and left Smith alone with Kali. When she returned home, the baby was unresponsive and he refused to tell her what happened.

Smith claimed he heard Moore screaming and the baby crying in the back room, then she hit Kali six to ten times on the floor, walls and wooden furniture

Moore claimed she went out and left Smith alone with Kali. When she returned home, the baby was unresponsive and he refused to tell her what happened.

Instead, he allegedly told her to tell him that she had fallen asleep with Kali in her arms and that the child had fallen out of bed and hit its head on the nightstand – exactly as he said she had told him.

Moore agreed that she was the one who called a family member to take Kali to the hospital.

Police decided to charge both of them with premeditated murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect.

Kyera apparently only learned of her daughter's death later on Saturday morning, when she began posting a series of sad Facebook posts.

In several posts, she begged God to kill her and let her daughter live instead.

“Please take me Lord, please I will do anything, pleaaaaaase God, pleaaaaase take me,” read one of them.

“My heart, my literal heart in little human form is gone… why, God, please tell me why, help me understand why.”

“My reason for not giving up is gone… what [am I] what should I do now?'

Kyera did not appear to have learned of her daughter's death until Saturday morning, when she began a series of sad Facebook posts.

Kyera's brother died just last month and she posted a photo of the two of them together on Sunday evening with the caption “You are both together now”

In her recent post, Kyera wondered if her daughter's death meant she didn't deserve her and explained how Kali kept her depression at bay.

“I swear I was great to her. I loved her with all my heart. She wanted and needed nothing,” she wrote.

“She knows she was loved by everyone and made everyone she came into contact with happy. I swear she was an angel and didn't deserve this.”

Kyera's brother died just last month and she posted a photo of the two of them together on Sunday night with the caption, “You two are together now.”