Police: Parents beat girl regularly, tried to cover up death

STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine (AP) - Investigators say a mother and stepfather beat a 10-year-old girl for months and staged a scene in their home to make it appear that her death was an accident.

An autopsy indicates Marrissa Kennedy was a victim of battered child syndrome whose injuries including bleeding on the brain and a lacerated liver.

A state police affidavit indicates 33-year-old Sharon Carrillo and 51-year-old Julio Carrillo took turns beating her, once breaking a mop handle on her ribs.

The Carrillos were charged with murder on Monday and are due in court Wednesday in Waldo County. It's unknown if they have a lawyer.

The affidavit indicates the couple told police the girl fell in the basement but later acknowledged trying to cover up the beatings that led to her death.