HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies have charged a 34-year-old Sebring woman for the abuse and murder of her adopted daughter.
Just after midnight on Friday, the Highland County Sheriff's Office was called to a home off of Bianca Street in the Sun n' Lake neighborhood. After arriving, they reportedly found a 13-year-old girl unresponsive right outside the front door.
In a statement, Sheriff Paul Blackman said the child only had a diaper on and had clearly been malnourished and "severely abused," with her body covered in wounds, including open lacerations.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, the agency confirmed.
Her adopted mother, Diane Mack, reportedly told deputies she found her daughter unresponsive Thursday morning but then later said it was closer to 3 p.m. The sheriff's office said Mack had time to drive four other children who lived at the home to Titusville and returned to Sebring before calling for help.
The sheriff's office continued to investigate, reportedly finding out that the girl, who was home-schooled, was restrained in the garage. While deputies say they aren't sure how long she had been held in there, evidence indicated that she was secured to the garage door and monitored from inside the home by a security camera.
Deputies said Mack had "clearly used pool chlorine" to try and destroy evidence in the garage before she called 911.
“This is one of the most disturbing crime scenes I have encountered in more than 30 years of law enforcement. There are no words I can say that can truly convey the nightmare that this child’s life must have been," Sheriff Blackman stated. "Parents have a duty to love our children and make sure no harm comes their way. To see a child treated this way is not only heartbreaking, it is infuriating."
The sheriff said Mack is a former employee of the Department of Children and Families and worked as a guardian ad litem.
"That someone whose job it was to look after the welfare of children could treat their own child in this manner is simply beyond belief,” Sheriff Blackman added.
Mack is being held without bail in Highlands County Jail on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, kidnapping and destroying evidence.
An investigation is ongoing.
