FL - Yeliani Schwartz-Ojeda, 3, beaten to death, mom charged, 27 June 2014

An Orange County mother said her 3-year-old daughter was killed in a hit-and-run accident, but the Medical Examiner's Office ruled the cause of death as homicide, saying the injuries were not consistent with being struck by a vehicle.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office made the announcement just hours after the mother, Maryann Schwartz, was in court trying to regain custody of her 2-year-old son, Angel. The toddler was placed in foster care after his sister's death.

Neighbors at the apartment complex where 3-year-old Yeliani Schwartz-Ojeda lived were shocked to learn that she wasn't hit by a car and her mother's story didn't add up for investigators.

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In a custody hearing on Sunday, a Child Protection Investigator said medical staff voiced concerns about the time of death given the temperature of the little girl's body. The investigator also said the little girl seemed to be malnourished and both of Schwartz's children had bruises all over their bodies.

"There were bruises on the children that concerned us and led us to believe there is possible physical abuse that occurred," said Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Kristi Gray.

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FLmom777 said:

Her partner has also been arrested. All children have been placed in foster care.

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FLmom777 said:

Her partner has also been arrested. All children have been placed in foster care.

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The DCF investigation started on Jan. 17 [2014].

An unnamed tipster reported watching Schwartz slam her 1-year-old son into a crib on several occasions at a homeless shelter where the family was staying. According to the witness, Schwartz did it with so much force, the baby started to cry.

Schwartz was seen punching her daughter in the chest and arms, hitting her son in the arms and legs and yelling at the children, according to the DCF documents. Her daughter was sometimes seen asking other people for food.

But when a DCF investigator went to the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida shelter where Schwartz was living in a dorm with 10 to 20 other women and children, documents of the visit painted a picture of healthy, happy children who were not being harmed...

The case was closed March 10 with investigators believing Yeliani and her brother were safe.

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the 911 dispatcher got two completely different stories on June 27 as Jelawnee's mother and her partner, Vanessa Morales, drove the child to the hospital where she later died of a head injury.

The report said Morales first told the dispatcher, "The kid fell down the stairs," and that she was OK. Then, after talking to someone in the background, Morales said the girl was struck by a car, according to the report...

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New, exclusive evidence against an Orange County mother accused of making up a hit and run accident to cover up her daughter’s murder show a messy home and the child's blood around the house...

Schwartz is the only suspect, facing first-degree murder for the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Yeliani Ojeda Schwartz.

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