A five-year-old Nevada girl named Izabella Loving was found dead on April 3, with her body showing many "signs of trauma." Her father, Nicholas Loving, has been charged with child abuse. Allegedly, Loving found that her daughter was not breathing and waited for five hours before calling 911.
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According to CNY Central, the incident took place on April 3 at around 7 a.m. at a residence located on Crystal Canyon Blvd. Washoe County deputies were responding to an unresposive child report who was not breathing. She had no pulse and was cold to the touch.
Deputies found Izabella lying next to a "tiny mattress with no bed frame," according to a probable cause document. They immediately noticed she had visible signs of trauma on her body. This included bruising on her face, hips, biceps, and genitals, among other places. Furthermore, she had a black eye and more than 10 injuries on her face alone.
Emergency responders declared five-year-old Izabella Loving dead at the scene.
Grim Details
When asked about her injuries, Nicholas and Andrea Loving, her parents, said that she suffered her black eye after being hit with a baseball bat. They, however, did not explain her other injuries, as per the legal documents. Nicholas would then claim that her daughter had fallen from his truck two times, causing her injuries. Both Nicholas and Andrea stated that Izabella kept falling often.
According to KOLO, Izabella coughed blood and mucus for 10 days before she died. The night before her death, Nicholas took his daughter's temperature, which was 96 or 97 degrees according to him. He bathed her and stated that "she seemed fine." Then, he locked her inside a 5' by 5' box.
"Nicholas admitted that they would sometimes keep Izabella in a small make-shift cubby (located on scene by the detectives, approximately 5? by 5?) in the girls room," the documents read. "He admitted having locked her inside on one occasion but that Andrea mostly put Izabella inside of it."
Found Dead
A few hours later, at around 2 a.m., one of their other daughters woke up Nicholas and Andrea, saying that Izabella was vomiting. Upon checking on Izabella, who was nonresponsive, Nicholas allegedly didn't let Andrea call 911, according to Andrea herself. Furthermore, Nicholas allegedly wanted to bury Isabelal's body in the backyard. Then, the plan was to flee with the rest of their children to Virginia.
Andrea refused, according to her. Reportedly, Nicholas disputes this claim. Both of them point fingers at each other for the alleged plan and the abuse inflicted upon her. As per the Reno Gazette Journal, Andrea watched Nicholas allegedly hitting Izabella in the genitals, dragging her by her sweatshirt. Furthermore, she remembered hearing a loud thud as if Nicholas had thrown her against a wall. All of this happened days before her death.
"Ultimately, they decided to remove Izabella from the cubby, drag her and her bed across the room and stage it there," the documents read. "Go with the story of them finding her at around 7 a.m. and they came up with explanations of her injuries, being that she fell multiple times or was hit with toys."
At the end of her interview, Andrea allegedly said, "I should go to jail for not helping Izabella, Nick should go to jail for killing her".
Alleged Admission And Arrest
As reported by CNY Central, Nicholas allegedly admitted to authorities that he and Andrea Loving waited about five hours before they finally called 911.
Nicholas Loving was charged with child abuse causing substantial bodily harm. He is being held on a $1 million cash bond. Andrea Loving, meanwhile, has not been charged with a crime.
On April 11, a memorial was held for Izabella moving at Cold Springs Valley Chruch. Many people attended the event, sobbing over her tragic death and asking for justice.
