3 women charged with murder of girl, 6, who was allegedly 'duct taped' for days, 'forced to stay in a dog crate' and weighed 27 pounds

Susan Robinson, Tonya McKnight and Tery’n McKnight.Credit : The Mecklenburg County Sheriff

NEED TO KNOW

Three women in North Carolina have been charged with first-degree murder and multiple counts of child abuse after a 6-year-old girl died in their home
The child, Dominique Mood, weighed just 27 lbs. at her time of death, per police
The girl was also allegedly often kept in a dog cage

Three women in North Carolina have been charged with murder and multiple counts of child abuse after a 6-year-old girl died in their home.

Susan Robinson, 61, Tonya McKnight, 51, and Tery’n McKnight, 22, were arrested in late December 2025 following the death of 6-year-old Dominique Moody, according to Mecklenburg County public inmate records.

While all three women were initially charged with multiple counts of child abuse, they were additionally charged with murder in the first degree on Wednesday, Feb. 4, according to local news outlet WBTV 3.

Officers responded to a call for medical assistance at 7608 Gwynne Hill Road in Charlotte at around 7:40 a.m. local time on Dec. 16, 2025, per an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. The caller told 911 that a child in the home was not breathing.

3 women charged with murder of girl, 6, who was allegedly 'duct taped' for days, 'forced to stay in a dog crate' and weighed 27 pounds

7608 Gwynne Hill Road in Charlotte, N.C.google maps

The child, identified as Dominique, was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:29 a.m. the same morning.

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Police stated that hospital staff informed them that the child weighed just 27 lbs. at the time of her death. She also had what appeared to be healed ligature scars on her arms and legs, broken bones, and open wounds on her body — one of which appeared to be a burn, per the affidavit.

“The victim’s hair, nails and body were dirty,” police additionally said, adding that Dominique appeared to have sores around her genitals and buttocks caused by long exposure to soiled diapers.

Police further stated that the home in which the child was found, where all three adult women lived, “was extremely unkempt, with a strong odor of feces and urine,” per the affidavit. They added that several rats were seen scurrying within the home, and that the house appeared to have no centralized heating to combat sub-zero winter nights.

Police said that four other children lived in the residence along with the victim. When interviewed, the children claimed that Dominique was often kept in a dog crate, per the affidavit.

police vehicle

Police vehicle (stock image).getty

Alleged text messages between Susan and Tonya — who was Dominique’s legal guardian — contained photos from November 2025 of the child restrained with duct tape, according to the affidavit. Messages also seemed to indicate that Dominique was regularly not given food, despite there being food in the home.

Police had been to the residence nearly 50 times in the years before Dominique’s death, and social workers had received five reports of alleged abuse or neglect, according to documents obtained by WBTV 3.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Mecklenburg District Court Judge Cecilia Oseguera denied bond for all three women on Thursday, Feb. 5, per court documents obtained by PEOPLE and Law&Crime.com.

Attorneys for the three defendants did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.