SEATTLE – A young Navy wife was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of her 18-month-old daughter, whose body was found stuffed in a garbage bag with dirty diapers.
The Kitsap County coroner called it one of the worst neglect cases he had ever seen.
Richeal M. Rhoades, who told naval investigators she fell into a depression after moving to Navy housing in Bremerton in August with her two young children, entered a not guilty plea in Kitsap County Superior Court.
The murder count alleges criminal negligence. Rhoades, 21, was held on $500,000 bail in the Kitsap County jail in Port Orchard.
Her attorney, Aaron Talney, said Rhoades’ mental health is a consideration in the case, although he wouldn’t say if she had been evaluated.
“It’s pretty obvious that was a woman who was pretty distressed over an extended time,” Talney said Thursday.
The woman moved to the Jackson Park Naval Housing Area in Bremerton as her sailor husband, Michael Rhoades, prepared to leave from Kings Bay, Ga., aboard the USS Maine, a Trident submarine that was reassigned to Bangor.
She told investigators she grew more and more detached from her daughter and 3-year-old son as her depression worsened, according to court documents. She sought no help, and although she knew her daughter had a temperature shortly before she died, Rhoades said, she didn’t call a hospital.
“Richeal said she knew that she had not been taking care of her kids and that Brenda was suffering from malnutrition and had a bad diaper rash,” an affidavit by Bremerton police detective Kenny Davis said. “She was afraid that both Brenda and Michael Jr. would be taken away from her.”
The boy is in protective custody.
Her husband’s submarine arrived Sunday at Bangor, and he apparently learned of the baby’s death that night, although authorities weren’t notified until Monday, court papers said.
When officers came to the home Monday and asked about the little girl, the woman said, “It’s in here,” and led them to a closet. The child’s body was wrapped in garbage bags and sealed in a box.
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