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Mother of 3-year-old pleads guilty to getting money by false pretenses after daughter’s death

Posted at 6:51 PM, Oct 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-17 06:09:33-04

Virginia Beach, Va. – A mother of a 3-year-old pleaded guilty to obtaining money by false pretenses on Friday after her daughter's death.

A search warrant says that a friend of Chanelle Chavis created a GoFundMe account asking for donations to Chavis' daughter's funeral.

Chavis told the friend that her daughter's death was an accident.

Chavis did not mention that her husband, Alton Chavis, was arrested for second degree murder and confessed to the crime, court documents say.

According to Virginia Beach Police, the 3-year-old was killed between 9 p.m. on May 7th and 3 a.m. on May 8th.

Alton Chavis was arrested and charged with the second degree murder of his daughter, Camber Chavis, on May 9.

On May 10, a woman gave Chanelle Chavis a $5,000 personal check  to help with Camber's funeral expenses.  During an interview with a detective, the woman said she wrote the check after learning about Camber's death.

Chanelle Chavis and the woman exchanged text messages before the check was written. Chavis never told the woman that her daughter was murdered by her husband, according to court documents.

Investigators say they discovered that nearly a month later, the body of Camber was still at the funeral home and no financial arrangements were made by Chanelle Chavis for funeral services.

On October 16, Chanelle Chavis pleaded guilty to an amended charge of obtaining money by false pretenses, a misdemeanor.

She received a six month suspended sentence depending on 12 months of good behavior.  She waived her right to appeal.