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A New York mother has been charged for allegedly killing her five-year-old daughter and hiding her body. Authorities said that 29-year-old Latasha Mott beat her daughter, Nefertiti Harris, to death using a belt while she was in the shower in January.
The Onondaga County District Attorney's office said they began investigating the case after members of the young girl's family reached out to police because they hadn't seen her in several months.
Investigators questioned Mott, and she admitted to killing her daughter and hiding her body in the woods. Mott's boyfriend was also interviewed by detectives, but he was uncooperative and later released.
Search teams have been scouring the wooded areas near Mott's home but have yet to find the body of Harris. According to WSYR, officers were seen with rakes and buckets as they searched the snow-covered woods. They even worked through the night, bringing in lights to assist.
They also deployed a drone to help search the woods for signs of the Harris' body.
Mott was taken into custody and charged with first-degree manslaughter and concealment of a corpse. She pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $1 million bond.