Cerebral palsy girl, 9, whose body was found stuffed inside a refrigerator weighing 14lbs died from starvation and dehydration

  • Ayahana Comb's body was discovered at the Happy Home Apartments in Houston, Texas in June
  • A neighbor found her body wrapped in a blanket inside a refrigerator drawer
  • Ayahana's 5-year-old sister also came upon the body while looking for a cheese snack in the refrigerator  
  • Mother Amber Keys told police her daughter stopped breathing one night in January and she was unable to resuscitate her
  • Keys continued collecting Social Security and food stamps for her daughter long after her passing, according to officials 
  • Miss Keys said she did not know what to do with her daughter's body. The mother has not been charged with any crime 

The death of a special-needs Texas girl whose body weighing only 14lbs was found crammed inside a refrigerator in June has been ruled a homicide.

A medical examiner has determined that the primary cause of death of 9-year-old Ayahana Comb was a combination of malnutrition and dehydration.

By the time her 5-year-old sister found Ayahana's body wrapped in a blanket inside a refrigerator drawer in the family's apartment in Houston, the child had been dead for five months.

'Murdered': Ayahana Comb, 9, died from a combination of malnutrition and dehydration in January before her mother wrapped her body in a blanket and stuffed it inside her fridge

'Murdered': Ayahana Comb, 9, died from a combination of malnutrition and dehydration in January before her mother wrapped her body in a blanket and stuffed it inside her fridge

Comb had cerebral palsy, was wheelchair-bound and had to be bottle-fed. 

A neighbor at the Happy Home Apartments in Houston, who was concerned that he hadn't seen Ayahana in a few months, went to check on the family in June. 

He found the front door unlocked and no one at home, so he went inside and discovered the little girl's emaciated body in a refrigerator drawer. 

But he was not the first to make the shocking discovery. According to investigators, Ayahana's younger sister came upon her body earlier that month while looking for a cheese snack in the fridge. 

According to KHOU, her mother Amber Keys told police that her daughter stopped breathing one night in January and although she tried CPR, she was unable to save her and then did not know what to do with the body.

A Child Protective Services case worker revealed during a court hearing that Keys had admitted to placing her child's corpse inside the fridge back in January out of panic.

However, the mother continued collecting Social Security Disability payments and food stamps for Ayahana long after her death, Click 2 Houston reported. 

The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office found that Ayahana's malnutrition and dehydration were compounded by medical complications associated with cerebral palsy and ulcers that had infected her bones.

The little girl's mother Amber Keys told police that her daughter stopped breathing one night in January and that she could not resuscitate her. The mother said she did not know what to do with the body

The little girl's mother Amber Keys told police that her daughter stopped breathing one night in January and that she could not resuscitate her. The mother said she did not know what to do with the body

Traumatic experience: Ayahana's 5-year-old sister (left) came upon the child's body in the fridge while searching for a cheese snack. Amber Keys (far right) later lost custody of her younger daughter

Traumatic experience: Ayahana's 5-year-old sister (left) came upon the child's body in the fridge while searching for a cheese snack. Amber Keys (far right) later lost custody of her younger daughter

Ms Keys has a criminal record, which includes a year-long stint in prison in 1998 for drug possession. She was also arrested in 2000 for criminal trespass and sentenced to 30 days in jail.

The woman had an older daughter, but she lost custody of her and the girl was later put up for adoption.

Following Ayahana's death, the state removed Keys' 5-year-old daughter from her care and placed her with relatives.

So far, Amber Keys has not been charged in connection to Ayahana's death.  

Kathi Combs, the girl's grandmother, told KHOU back in June: 'It's devastating to everyone. We loved her. All loved her.'

 

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