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Court date for former Sailor accused in death of toddler

Posted at 8:49 AM, Sep 24, 2014
and last updated 2014-09-24 08:49:13-04

Norfolk, Va. - A former Sailor accused in the death of a toddler is scheduled to appear in court today.

24-year-old Emily Defries is accused of killing her boyfriend's 20-month-old daughter at their Norfolk home.

NewsChannel 3 is expecting to learn more about that deadly day when paramedics arrived to their Gregory Drive home and found the infant unresponsive back in May. The baby girl was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at the hospital.

The former Sailor told detectives the 20-month-old was sleeping, while her son and the victim's older sister were playing outside in the backyard. When she came inside to check on the infant - Defries says she found the baby at the bottom of the stairs and that the baby must have fallen down. But according to an autospy - it was no accident.

Court records show the 20-month-old girl suffered a fractured skull and several bruises on her tiny body.

The 24-year-old mother and former Sailor says she did not kill her boyfriend's 20-month-old daughter - it was all an accident.

But prosecutors will try to prove otherwise in Emily Defries' hearing later this morning.

Related:

Autopsy reveals murdered 20-month-old girl had fractured skull, bruises all over body