Izabella Loving (GoFundMe).
A Nevada father is behind bars after he allegedly beat his 2-year-old daughter over a period of several days, forced her to sleep in a “cubby” and waited five hours to call 911 after he found her unconscious.
Nicholas Loving, 35, stands accused of child abuse in the death of Izabella Loving at their home in Cold Springs, some 20 miles northwest of Reno, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. Records show Loving sits in the Washoe County Jail on a $10 million bond.
More from Law&Crime: ‘Tragic circumstances’: Mom who starved 2-year-old son to death learns her fate after boy’s father is sentenced
Deputies say they responded to the Loving home shortly before 7 a.m. on April 3. When they arrived, the found Izabella unconscious. Paramedics pronounced her dead on scene. A subsequent investigation discovered “significant signs of physical abuse inflicted” upon Izabella, deputies said.
Local ABC affiliate KOLO and the Reno Gazette Journal obtained a probable cause arrest affidavit that further details the allegations. Izabella’s mother, who has not been charged with a crime, reportedly told investigators that she had seen Loving kick their daughter in the genitals and drag her across the room by her sweatshirt in the days leading up to her death.
For roughly 10 days, Izabella had been throwing up blood and mucus, her mother reportedly said. On the night in question, the mother stated Izabella’s body temperature was 96 or 97 degrees so she gave Izabella a bath and she “seemed fine,” according to the affidavit. Loving then put her to bed in a small box with a lock on it.
“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 affidavit reportedly stated. “He admitted having locked her inside on one occasion but that [the mother] mostly put Izabella inside of it.”
One of their other children awoke the parents around midnight to say they saw Izabella vomiting. Two hours later, Loving opened the box to find the girl unresponsive. But instead of calling 911 Loving allegedly tried to plan his next steps to save himself. The mother reportedly told investigators her husband would not permit her to call 911.
Loving at first allegedly suggested the family, including their other kids ages 4, 7 and 10, and make a “run” for it after burying Izabella’s body in the backyard. Then, he allegedly came up with another plan.
“Ultimately, they decided to remove Izabella from the cubby, drag her and her bed across the room and stage it there,” the complaint reportedly said. “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.”
The defendant also tried to blame some of the girl’s injuries on his other kids, including that they hit her with a plastic bat, according to the affidavit.
Izabella suffered from 10 separate injuries on her face, including a black eye and a gash above the other eye, cops reportedly wrote. She also had cuts and bruises on her pelvis, hips, both biceps and genitals, investigators noted.
Medical examiners are still trying to determine a cause and manner of death. Additional charges could be forthcoming against him and his wife. If his wife had a say, she’d be behind bars along with her husband.
“I should go to jail for not helping Izabella, Nick should go to jail for killing her,” she reportedly told detectives.
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