RENO, Nev. — A Nevada couple pleaded guilty to killing a 5-year-old girl, whose body was found in a duffel bag at a California storage unit, according to court documents.
Averyauna Enoch, 25, of Reno, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Tyler Anderson, 25, of Reno, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday in Washoe County District Court, KCRA reported.
Both agreed to plea deals in connection with the death of Anderson’s daughter, Cali Anderson, The Sacramento Bee reported. The couple also pleaded guilty to destruction of evidence and are scheduled to be sentenced April 21.
The child was found in May 2018 inside a locker at a U-Haul storage facility in north Sacramento, according to Washoe County Court records. The girl was believed to have been dead at least two weeks.
According to police, Cali Anderson had been handcuffed in an animal cage and starved, KCRA reported.
According to court documents, Enoch intentionally withheld food and water from the girl “for the specific purpose of inflicting pain by means of starvation for revenge or for the sadistic purpose of hatred of CA due to the fact CA was not her biological child."
Enoch was not the girl’s biological mother but went by the name Anderson before the couple divorced in August, KCRA reported. Anderson fathered two children with Enoch, and they lived with the couple in Reno, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Anderson and Enoch kept Cari Anderson’s body in a closet at their Reno home before renting a U-Haul van, the Bee reported. The couple then drove the child’s remains to Sacramento and convinced a friend to keep the duffel bag in a sealed box in their storage locker, the newspaper reported.
The couple’s friend became suspicious of the box and found Cali Anderson’s emaciated body, the Bee reported. The friend called the police, who arrested Enoch and Anderson.
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