Mother Charged With Capital Murder in 2-Year-Old Girl's Death

A Balch Springs mother of three is facing a capital murder charge after police say she intentionally hurt her 2-year-old daughter, causing her death.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, 20-year-old Merry Christina Inpadith, born on Christmas Day 1998, is facing a capital murder charge after police say she "knowingly caused serious bodily injury and committed an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused the death of an individual under the age of 10 years old."

Inpadith told investigators she woke up at about 8 a.m. and gave her 6-month-old daughter a bottle. She then went to check on another child, 2-year-old Chelsea, and found her cold and not breathing.

She told police she then woke the girl's father, Douglas Orellana, who tried to wake the girl before attempting CPR. When the girl's mouth would not open, they gathered their children and rushed to Dallas Regional Hospital in Mesquite.

Inpadith told doctors at the hospital that the entire family had a cold a couple of weeks prior, but that they had all recovered. When asked if the child had hurt herself recently, Inpadith told doctors that her 3-year-old daughter, who had bruises and other marks on her head, would fight with Chelsea and hit her with toys and books.

The bruises, Inpadith said, were put there by the girl's older sibling.

The woman told police she was a stay-at-home mom and that Orellana would go out and work. When interviewed by police, Orellana told police the day before he and an associate had been out selling drugs to make money for his family and that he returned late in the evening after his children had gone to sleep.

That associate, while not confirming that they sold drugs, told police that, at about 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., he heard a phone call between Inpadith and Orellana and that he heard Inpadith say that something was wrong with Chelsea. Orellana went home to check on his child but returned a short time later saying she was only hungry.

An autopsy performed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office said "there was hemorrhaging inside the child's skull, on top of the brain, with two impact sites identified caused by blunt force trauma to the head. There was also blunt force to the abdomen which caused a laceration to the pancreas and liver with hemorrhaging right over the spine."

The ME added that there was no indication that any healing had taken place before the child died.

Inpadith is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on $500,000 bond.

At this time, no charges have been filed against the child's father.