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Court records say Heaven Woods abuse goes back years

FORSYTH — There are new developments in the investigation into the death of 5-year-old Heaven Woods.

Channel 2 Action News has learned that allegations the young girl was being abused date back years.

The state medical examiner says an autopsy revealed the Floyd County girl suffered long-term physical abuse before she died.Court records show that concerns Heaven was suffering at the hands of her own mother date back nearly two years.

Channel 2 Action News pulled custody filings at the Floyd County courthouse that show in October, 2012, father Antony Woods petitioned for primary custody of Heaven, telling the court that visitation with her mother, Amanda Hendrickson, should be limited because of violence towards the child.

Hendrickson responded that Woods was the violent one.

Woods continued efforts to see his daughter; petitioning the court in October 2013 and as recently as January 2014.

Paramedics found Heaven unresponsive and badly beaten inside a Monroe County home May 20.

Police arrested Hendrickson and her boyfriend, Roderick Buckner, on charges of child cruelty. Monroe County District Attorney Richard Milam said he plans to upgrade the charges to murder and aggravated battery.

Milam and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh that Hendrickson had a history with the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services in Floyd County.Family members said Hendrickson moved with her daughter to Monroe County in early May. Investigators say she also spent time with her in West Virginia, where there was also a case with that state’s child welfare agency.

"She was just a kid to be loved,” Woods told Kavanaugh.

Woods wasn't ready to comment on the case. He laid his daughter to rest Thursday morning.

On Friday, members of the GBI, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies will meet to discuss where everyone stands in this case.

Milam says he expects warrants to upgrade the charges to be filed Friday.