LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A father and daughter faced a Gwinnett County magistrate judge Friday accused of killing a child and starving a young mother.
Gwinnett County police said Iasha Sweeting, 21, is one of five victims starved by Calvin McIntosh and his daughter Najlaa. A 15-month-old baby died. Three other children and Sweeting survived.
The father and daughter are charged with murder, cruelty and exploitation. Both allegedly brought Sweeting into their Nuwaubian Nation of Moors religion, then punished her for "disobedience."
When police found Sweeting, they said she weighed only 59 pounds.
Sweeting had a 15-month-old baby that doctors ruled had died due to malnutrition.
"Today is my first day seeing Tyanne, at the funeral home. And I feel cheated. I never had a chance to hold her. I never had a chance to hear her first words," said Elvis Morgan, Sweeting's mother.
Sweeting was found in the Extended Stay America Motel on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Gwinnett County
Sweeting's 15-month-old had been taken to the hospital by Calvin McIntosh, the baby's father, where she was pronounced dead by doctors.
McIntosh is being accused of killing his baby and charges include rape.
In Magistrate Court Friday, Detective James Sweeney with the Gwinnett County Police Department took the stand in a preliminary hearing, explaining why the department arrested McIntosh and how officers found Sweeting along with three malnourished children ages 3- to 6-years old and McIntosh's own daughter at the hotel.
Sweeting's uncle, Darnell Morgan, says his niece faces a long recovery and is heartbroken by the death of the baby.
"Seeing the baby today actually broke my heart because she looked like an angel. She looks like an angel," Morgan said.
The judge ruled there is enough evidence in the case to move forward.
The family will bury the 15-month-old Saturday.
WSBTV
