Mother Charged in Death of Severely Malnourished Girl

Autopsy results are inconclusive in the death of a 4-year-old Brooklyn girl, but police have charged her mother with assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Marchella Pierce was found dead early Thursday morning inside the apartment where she lived. Police say the child was severely malnourished and marks on her ankles looked like they may have come from being tied with the twine found on her bed railings.

The girl was sickly and had been in and out of the hospital since she was born prematurely. Her family was the subject of a child welfare investigation and a non-profit was supposed to be monitoring them until June, when the Administration for Children's Services ended their contract.

ACS says the non-profit failed to visit the family at least twice a week as required. The agency confirms its caseworkers were the ones to visit the family most recently.

Sources close to the case say the visits were related to a complaint from a hospital worker concerned the child's mother was unable to properly handle her tracheotomy tube. ACS says a full investigation of the case is underway.