Authorities say mother put 7-year-old girl at riskBy Noah Haglund (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Noah Haglund Shaveta McGill, whose 7-year-old daughter, Ta'mya Grant, was found dead in their home, appears for a bond hearing at Berkeley County's Hill-Finklea Detention Center on Wednesday. 
The Post and Courier Ta'Mya Grant A mother shouldn't have left her 7-year-old daughter alone in their St. Stephen house for several hours last fall, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said. While Shaveta McGill was gone, the child was beaten to death. Nobody has been charged with Ta'Mya Grant's killing, and nobody has been ruled out, either, Wilson said. Authorities think that by leaving Ta'Mya by herself so long, McGill put the child at "unreasonable risk" of harm. "These charges are related to her having left the child at home, unattended, for hours and not having secured the home while the child was left," Wilson said. McGill was charged Tuesday with unlawful conduct toward a child, a felony punishable by as much as 10 years in prison. The 23-year-old appeared for a bond hearing at Berkeley County's Hill-Finklea Detention Center Wednesday. Magistrate Harry Wright set bail at $40,000. If released, McGill must submit to drug testing and is barred from contact with children under the age of 16. She remained in jail late Wednesday. Ta'Mya was found beaten to death Sept. 29 at her family's house on Welch Street in St. Stephen. A board with a nail embedded in it was used to strike the child, authorities have said. McGill told police that she left the girl at home at 10:30 p.m. She told them she went to get cigarettes, then walked to another home nearby and later met with two male friends. When the friends drove her back home, she went inside then came out saying her daughter had been hurt, police said. Authorities received a 911 call about 1 a.m. At the scene, investigators found blood splatter, a bloody handprint and a blood-stained, 10-inch piece of wood with a 1-inch nail protruding from it. The State Law Enforcement Division and St. Stephen police are investigating. Defense attorney Eduardo Curry said McGill has been working recently with a food service company and living with a friend in Goose Creek. "I want the public to under- stand that these are always hard cases when you have mothers and children," he said. "It's so easy to judge (with) 20-20 hindsight." The solicitor declined to discuss where evidence was leading detectives. She wouldn't say why she wanted McGill to submit to drug testing, except to say that it was related to evidence of drug use that came up during the investigation. "We want the community to know that nobody's at risk at this point," Wilson said, but added, "We keep our eyes open to all suspects." Reached Wednesday afternoon, McGill's cousin Shyala Ford said, "I don't have anything I would like to say. It's a pending case." Curry didn't think the evidence points to his client. "If they were going to charge her with murder, they would've charged her," he said. "We believe the killer's still out there." Nita Birmingham contributed to this report. Reach Noah Haglund at nhaglund@postandcourier.com or 937-5550. |
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Comments
This article has 14 comment(s)
Posted by proud2bme on May 1, 2008 at 6:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This mother may not have physically killed her child but she is defintely to blame for leaving her alone so that someone else could.
Who in their right mind, leaves a 7 yr. old child home alone at night??? A 7yr. old should not be left alone day or night.
Posted by Early on May 1, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Drugs, now we know why she had to visit her two male friends. So, either she killed her child or someone else killed her child over drugs!
Posted by charlene68 on May 1, 2008 at 8:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I say she is at fault cause if she had not left the child alone she probably would have been living today... Her negligence caused the childs death... so yes i do feel she is at fault... she should have been home with the child if she says she did not do it then if something happened she could have fought to protect the child.. but her negligence caused this and nothing will change my mind on that.... just my opinion
Posted by ColdBeer on May 1, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I still can't figure this out. I can't see anyway that a mom is going to beat her own child with a board with a nail in it. I can't see her paying someone else to do that either. I can't even see this as a revenge hit for drug issues. It's too brutal. It takes a serious psycho to do something like this under any circumstances. Obviously moms have killed their own kids in the past, drowning, shooting and such, but beating one with a board with nails in it? My mind just won't allow me to accept that a mom would do that.
I think the current charges are justified. She's an idiot for doing what she did. I have a feeling that these charges are mainly to keep her in check until the case is solved.
When this gets solved, there is no doubt in my mind that the facts will be beyond belief.
Posted by konphidence on May 1, 2008 at 8:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Diddo ColdBeer, Early sometimes you say things that are way out there. stop watching movies. drug dealers don't kill kids for payment. period. too messy, too much heat.
Posted by Tkoinmy97 on May 1, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree ColdBeer. Another scenario - perhaps Ta'Mya wouldn't go to bed, and for whatever reason, Mom smacked her with the board, realizing too late the nail in the end. Not sure if that makes sense either - supposedly no history of being violent or severely disciplining that poor little angel. Drugs and alcohol - why do they prevail over a child?!?!?! I have bought shoes for the kids we used to live next to bc the parents were always too drunk to afford to take care of their children.
Posted by lexylady on May 1, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is my belief that she left the child home alone for that period of time because she knew the child was dead!!!!
I will never believe anything different. Beautiful little girl. How horrible.
Posted by Early on May 1, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
konphidence, thank you for monitoring my opinions and comments, I feel better. BTW do you have an opinion of your own or you just the comment police today?
Posted by RTC on May 1, 2008 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is something that is not being said at this time, but I'm pretty sure that the authorities are putting a case together.
"We want the community to know that nobody's at risk at this point," Wilson said, but added, "We keep our eyes open to all suspects."
She and the investigators know something that they can't talk about at this point in the investigation.
Why else would this statement have been made?
Posted by ColdBeer on May 1, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
allwoman, I know those freak things happen, but even then the mom turns out to be way off the deep end mentally. This woman, from all outward appearances, is acting normal in court. She may be guilty of the murder, I just can't fathom it at this point.
Like I said, the facts in this one are going to be stranger than anything I can imagine.
Posted by Two_Sheds on May 1, 2008 at 2:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Did they ever find out WHO the "bloody handprint" belonged to?
I agree with most people on this case, in that something just doesn't add up here. I have a feeling that the solicitors know more than they're letting on, and I hope that's a good thing, as far as being closer to solving this case.
Posted by Girleygirl on May 1, 2008 at 3:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think they know more than what they can tell the public of course and hope they find the trash behind this.
Posted by professional_blk_woman on May 1, 2008 at 7:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What I dont understand is this: Even IF she was going to leave the child at home by herself (which in my opinion is definitely neglect), WHY THE HECK WOULD SHE LEAVE THE DOOR UNLOCKED??? Are they saying that SHE came home and found the door unlocked? So somebody just unlocked her front door, walked in, beat her little girl to death with a nail filled board, and left? Ummmm.....????? That just doesnt make sense to me. I hope to God that she had nothing to do with this murder, but it doesnt look good!
I have to agree with you, CVS. I just couldnt IMAGINE a mother doing something like this to her child! You have to be a special kind of sick to pull it off.
Allwoman...the mother who chopped her kids up with the axe several years back was certifiably mentally ill. I know personally of that family, and she hadnt been right for quite sometime. She was sentenced to time in a mental institution.
Posted by luvmydogs59 on May 1, 2008 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As I mentioned yesterday, it's about time they charged her...they should have done that from the very beginning. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more, and I'm confident that more charges will be brought against this sorry excuse for a "mother".
As a mother, it's hard for me to even want to use that word in reference to this horrible woman. Heck, when my kids were small, I wouldn't even leave them in the car, even if I was only going to be somewhere for a minute!! As stated before, many times, for many situations, some people just shouldn't breed.