A 4-year-old girl who died Saturday after being critically injured in a Whittier motel had been on the run with her father for two years, according to media reports from New Jersey.
Eric Lorenzo Davis, 23, was charged with child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury in the case after his daughter, Erika, was found with severe injuries at the Qualla Motel in Whittier just after 7 a.m. Friday.
Further charges will be considered against Davis, pending the results of an autopsy, which is scheduled for this week, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have not said how the child was hurt.
According to media reports, Cliffwood Beach, N.J. resident Billie Jo Brown, the girl’s mother, said family members had been searching for Erika and her 3-year-old brother after their father, Eric Davis, kidnapped them in 2011.
Jackson County investigators have not said if the boy was with Davis. Sheriff’s Maj. Shannon Queen could not be reached Sunday.