AURORA, Colo. — The woman accused of causing the death of her 5-year-old daughter was formally charged Tuesday morning.
Alexus Nelson, 27, appeared in Arapahoe County District Court where she learned of the charges against her.
They include:
- Child abuse - knowing/reckless causing death
- Tampering with a deceased human body
- Attempt to influence a public servant
Remains believed to belong to her daughter, 5-year-old Maha Li Hobbs, were found inside a small plastic bag in a utility closet at Nelson's apartment in 1000 block of South Elkhart Way in Aurora on Thursday, according to the Aurora Police Department (APD). Detectives also observed that the fireplace had recently been used.
Police responded to the apartment last Tuesday for a welfare check related to Maha after a phone call from her grandmother about "concerning text messages" from Nelson.
According to an arrest affidavit from APD, Nelson told officers she had given up Maha for adoption about a month ago but gave conflicting stories about that adoption and was eventually arrested on charges related to attempting to influence a public servant.
Nelson gave officers consent to search her apartment and they noticed one room was completely empty and had extremely dirty carpet covered in various stains, the affidavit says. They also noticed a lack of children's items in the apartment.
Through a search warrant, detectives learned that Nelson had made the following two Google searches on May 2:
- "Can you overdose from melatonin?"
- "Can you overdose from Xanax?"
All family members said the last time they had heard from Maha was on May 3.
On May 5, a maintenance worker said he was in the apartment and saw that a bedroom door was locked and had a rope connecting that door to the bathroom door across the hall.
He said, according to the arrest affidavit, that it looked as if someone was trying to keep someone locked in that bedroom. The worker also reported that he cut the rope but then heard Nelson yell him through a baby monitor to leave, so he left the apartment.
The Arapahoe County Coroner's Office said on Friday that it will likely take weeks to scientifically identify the remains.
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