CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the early hours of a cold December morning, when most homes are still wrapped in sleep and quiet routines, first responders were called to a small house on Gwynne Hill Road for a reason that no one ever wants to hear.

A child was not breathing.

It was around 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday, December 16, when emergency crews arrived, stepping into a scene that would leave seasoned officers shaken and struggling to process what they were seeing.

A six-year-old girl, whose name has not been released, was rushed to a nearby hospital, her small body already bearing the weight of far more suffering than a child should ever know.

She later died.

In the hours and days that followed, affidavits filed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department began to reveal the conditions she had been living in, and with every new detail, the story grew darker, heavier, and more difficult to comprehend.

The child lived in the home with four other children and three adults.

Those adults were identified as Tonya McNight, her guardian, Tery’n McNight, Tonya’s daughter, and Susan Robinson, Tonya’s sister.

On paper, it looked like a household.

In reality, according to police reports, it was a place defined by neglect, filth, and sustained cruelty.

Officers wrote that when they entered the home, it was “extremely unkempt,” a phrase that barely hints at the conditions described in the affidavit.

The air inside carried a strong, overwhelming odor of feces and urine, so intense it immediately signaled that something was deeply wrong.

Police reported finding a mixture of animal and human fecal matter throughout the home, along with rats and cockroaches scurrying freely through the space.

Holes were noted in the walls, the floors, and even the roof, some large enough to lead directly outside, leaving the interior exposed to the elements.

The house lacked central heat, despite outside temperatures hovering around 20 degrees that morning.

Instead, the adults relied on an oven and two space heaters as their primary sources of warmth.

One space heater was located in a bedroom, while another sat in the living room, positioned only about two feet away from a cot, an arrangement that posed serious safety risks in addition to highlighting the absence of basic care.

Property records show the home had three bedrooms, yet what those rooms offered in terms of safety or comfort is deeply questionable given the overall condition of the house.

The physical condition of the child was even more devastating than the environment itself.

According to police, the six-year-old weighed just 27 pounds at the time of her death.

Health officials note that girls her age typically weigh between 36 and 60 pounds, depending on height and overall health.

Officers documented wounds and scarring in various stages of healing covering most of her body, a silent record of pain that had been ongoing for months, possibly longer.

Among those injuries were healed ligature marks around her right ankle, along with scars on her right ankle, right arm, right foot, and outer right leg.

She also had an open wound on her left ankle that appeared to be a burn, still raw at the time of her death.

Police noted additional open wounds on her knees, face, arms, and legs, injuries that had not been treated and had been allowed to remain exposed.

Some of the most severe injuries were consistent with prolonged exposure to feces and urine, suggesting the child had been left in a soiled diaper for extended periods of time.

She was also found to have a fractured pinky toe and four fractured ribs, all in various stages of healing, indicating repeated trauma rather than a single incident.

The living conditions described by investigators paint a picture of sustained abuse rather than neglect alone.

The other children in the home ranged in age from just 13 months to six years old.

According to police affidavits, older children in the house reported that the girl who died had been forced to live inside a dog crate placed in the living room.

She was allegedly bound with tape and struck with a belt.

Months before her death, the child reportedly broke the crate, an act that did not bring relief but instead resulted in further punishment.

Police say she was then forced to sleep on the bathroom floor, a space described as being filled with feces.

During the investigation, officers searched Susan Robinson’s phone and discovered a photograph that captured a moment of cruelty difficult to put into words.

The image allegedly showed the child taped with black duct tape, her hands and feet swollen, lying on the carpet in the living room.

Robinson told officers the child was taped as punishment for actions such as stealing food, a statement that underscores the level of deprivation the child may have been experiencing.

Robinson also allegedly admitted that the child had been forced to sit in a soiled diaper for days at a time over the last year and a half of her life.

According to her statements, Robinson lived in the home with Tonya and Tery’n McNight, and while Tonya would often leave the children without notice, Robinson and Tery’n were frequently responsible for their care.

Police wrote that Robinson admitted she had witnessed the girl being neglected and abused but did not intervene, did not call 911, and did not report the conditions to authorities.

That admission, laid out in the affidavit, added another layer of gravity to a case already defined by unimaginable suffering.

As the investigation unfolded, warrants were issued for four counts of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of child abuse inflicting serious mental or physical injury against Robinson and both McNights.

Susan Lee Robinson made her first court appearance on Monday, December 22, and was denied bond.

Records show that Tonya McNight was arrested later that same night and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday, December 23.

Tery’n McNight had not yet been charged at the time of the affidavit because she was reportedly hospitalized after being struck by a truck.

This case has sent shockwaves through the Charlotte community, leaving many struggling to understand how such conditions could exist unnoticed for so long.

It raises painful questions about oversight, responsibility, and the systems meant to protect children who cannot protect themselves.

Beyond the legal charges and court dates, there is the human reality that cannot be undone.

A six-year-old girl lived her short life in fear, pain, and deprivation, unseen by the world until it was too late.

She was not given safety, comfort, or dignity in the place that should have offered all three.

As the legal process moves forward, investigators continue to piece together what happened inside that home and how the suffering went on for so long.

For the public, the affidavits offer information.

For those who read them closely, they offer something else entirely, a haunting reminder of how invisible cruelty can be, and how urgently vigilance matters when children’s lives are at stake.