Grandmother charged in toddler's beating death in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- A Pittsburgh woman has been charged in the death of her 3-year-old granddaughter on the city's North Side, police said.

Denise Johnson is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, aggravated assault, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

A 911 call by family members brought first responders to the apartment on East Ohio Street around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Ayla Miller, 3, was pronounced dead a short time later.

Pittsburgh police said the little girl had been living there with Johnson, her grandmother. A witness told police Miller had been in Johnson's custody for about a month and a half.

When the little girl was found, investigators said she "was cold to the touch" and covered in bruises and scratches. In addition, police said blood was on the mattress the girl was lying on.

Investigators also found a likely infected wound on the girl's right ankle and a burn mark on her left ankle, "which is consistent with a cigarette burn," the criminal complaint said.

Johnson is now in police custody. She told a relative and investigators that she hit the girl and was sorry.

She is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.

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