A baby-faced Michigan mother has been put behind bars after her 2-year-old daughter was found dead in a trailer home. Paige Nichole Bohne, 21, from Colon, is being held without bond at the St. Joseph County Jail on charges of open murder of her young daughter.
Authorities were called to the home of Bohne's great aunt and uncle at Memory Lane Trailer Park in Sturgis Township, where they found 2-year-old Octavia unresponsive around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, the Sturgis Journal reported. However, Octavia was pronounced dead at the scene after several attempts to revive her failed. The child's family and the community are now devastated after her tragic death.
Cold-Blooded Murderer
"Octavia deserved more," the child's aunt, who wants to remain anonymous, told WSBT. "I know there was many, many people that loved Octavia, and all her mom had to do was reach out to one of us."
"Anybody would have helped instead of what had happened to her," she added.
The St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office arrived at the mobile home and considered the circumstances of the toddler's death to be suspicious.
To help with the investigation, the Major Crimes Task Force was called in, leading to the 21-year-old mother's arrest on charges of involuntary manslaughter.
However, further details surrounding Octavia's death have not been revealed.
"My heart goes out to everybody that's surrounded by this case," Jason Bingaman, the St. Joseph County Undersheriff said, KOMO News reported.
"This is a sad and tragic situation that did not have to occur and unfortunately there's a loss of a life of a young person and that's troubling."
The Sturgis Police Department, Michigan Department of Human and Health Services, Michigan State Police, Tri-Township Fire Department, Sturgis Fire Department, and St. Joseph County Victim Services Unit also joined the sheriff's office in the investigation, according to the Sturgis Journal.
Motive Still Unclear
Bohne was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, but after her arraignment on Friday, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor upgraded the charges to Open Murder with no bond. Octavia's aunt, a mother of five, was the toddler's primary caregiver, although there was no fixed schedule for when she would care for her.
The aunt shared that her children loved Octavia as if she were their own sibling.
The last time the aunt saw Octavia was the weekend before Halloween when she took the toddler, dressed as a bumblebee, trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. "She just barely was staying with us, because she was just so excited and running up to get all the candy from all the people that were handing it out," she told WSBT.
"She was wanting to eat the candy as fast as she got it."
She described Octavia as one of the happiest little girls she had ever known and expressed a desire for her to be remembered for her bright smile.
"The loss of someone is always difficult, but the loss of a child is especially tragic, and it impacts the whole community," Bingaman added in his statement.
Residents of Memory Lane Trailer Park, where the toddler died, were shocked upon hearing the news of her death.
