Stepmother arrested on murder charges after 8-year-old Gwinnett girl beaten to death

BETHLEHEM, Ga. — A 34-year-old woman is facing murder charges after her eight-year-old stepdaughter died in Gwinnett County.

An arrest warrant accuses the woman of beating the child with a rolling pin.

On Tuesday around 2:16 p.m., Gwinnett officers were called to Vine Springs Trace in Bethlehem regarding a medical call for a child.

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When officers arrived, first responders determined an eight-year-old girl was dead on the scene.

Police told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that the child was home with an adult woman when she had a medical emergency.

The woman called the girl’s father who came home to find her unresponsive and began doing CPR.

On Wednesday morning, police announced the arrest of Natiela Barros, 34, of Bethlehem.

Officials said Barros was the stepmother to the child and was married to the child’s biological father. She’s facing charges of cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated assault, felony murder, and malice murder.

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Johnson obtained a copy of the arrest warrant against Barros.

It accuses the stepmother of beating the child with a wooden rolling pin “10-20 times” and “refusing to get her medical care afterwards.”

Barros appeared before a judge on Wednesday morning, where she was denied bond for being a danger to a person or community.

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