MARKHAM, Ill. — A woman is facing charges nearly seven years after her child’s body was found after a house fire in Markham, Illinois.
In a news conference Thursday, Markham Police Department said Melody Townsend, 40, was brought back from California to Illinois to face charges, according to Chicago Sun-Times.
Townsend was arrested for felony child endangerment, concealing, and aiding a fugitive, according to WGN-TV. More charges are pending.
The body of Townsend’s daughter, Ana Marie Townsend, was found on July 3, 2017, at a house fire near 155th and Hamlin. According to the news outlet, Ana was found inside a plastic bag upstairs in the abandoned house. Her identity at first was not known.
In 2019, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office announced the girl’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing, according to WGN-TV. Her death was ruled a homicide. The medical examiner’s office said that the girl had physical trauma that was not from the fire.
The girl’s exact cause of death has not yet been released, Chicago Sun-Times reported.
