DENVER—Prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges Friday against the mother and caretaker of a 3-year-old Denver girl who died suffering from malnourishment and dehydration.
Authorities say Zianne (zye-ANN’) Hall weighed less than 22 pounds when she was taken to a hospital on Oct. 13. She died on Oct. 30.
Zianne’s mother, Shaunee Hall, 23, and Tina Houcks, 36, Hall’s roommate who sometimes cared for the girl, had already been arrested on charges of child abuse resulting in death.
Prosecutors said the new, more serious charges were filed after additional witnesses provided new information. They did not elaborate.
Hall and Houcks had been held in lieu of $75,000 bond each, but on Friday a judge ordered them held without bail on the new charges.
Defense attorneys declined to comment after a hearing on Friday.
