'Placed by the Stove to Warm Up': Three Women Charged With Murder After 6-Year-Old Dies Weighing Just 27 Pounds in Charlotte House of Horrors

Dominique Moody suffered broken ribs, ligature scars, burns, and starvation while authorities visited home nearly 50 times; grandmother and two others now face first-degree murder charges

WARNING: This story contains graphic details of child abuse that may be distressing to readers.

In the freezing pre-dawn hours of December 16, 2025, inside a squalid east Charlotte home with no central heating, a six-year-old girl was discovered not breathing. Instead of immediately calling for help, the adults in the house placed her tiny body in front of the kitchen stove—one of the home's only heat sources—hoping, as other children later told investigators, to "warm her up and bring her back to life" .

It was too late. Dominique Moody was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 9:29 that morning. She was one month shy of her seventh birthday and weighed just 27 pounds—barely more than half the healthy minimum weight for a child her age .

The Accused

Three women who shared the Gwynne Hill Road residence now face first-degree murder charges in Dominique's death: Susan Robinson, 61; Tonya McKnight, 51, the child's legal guardian and grandmother; and Tery'n McKnight, 22, Tonya's daughter . All three appeared in Mecklenburg County Superior Court on February 5, 2026, where a judge appointed capital defense attorneys and denied bond . Prosecutors upgraded charges from child abuse to first-degree murder following a detailed forensic investigation that revealed months—if not years—of systematic torture .

'Prolonged Torture'

The affidavit paints a harrowing picture of Dominique's final months. Medical examiners documented healed ligature marks around her right ankle, linear scars on her arms, circular scars on her feet, an open burn wound, and four fractured ribs in various stages of healing . She had a broken pinky toe and severe wounds consistent with prolonged exposure to urine and feces—the result of being left in soiled diapers for days at a time over an 18-month period .

The four other children living in the home told investigators Dominique was routinely confined to a dog crate in the living room. When she broke it months before her death, she was forced to sleep on a feces-covered bathroom floor . The children said she was bound with black duct tape as punishment—sometimes for stealing food—and struck with a white belt .

A photograph recovered from Robinson's phone showed Dominique bound with duct tape, her hands and feet visibly swollen, lying on the living room carpet . Text messages between Robinson and Tonya McKnight indicated the child was regularly denied food despite ample provisions in the home . Robinson allegedly told officers she witnessed the abuse but did nothing—never calling 911 or reporting what she saw .

The House: Rats, Cockroaches, and Freezing Cold

Police described the three-bedroom home as "extremely unkempt," with a powerful odor of feces and urine permeating every room . Investigators found human and animal waste throughout, rats scurrying across floors, and cockroaches infesting the premises . Multiple holes in the walls provided entry points for vermin, and some children told investigators they had been bitten by rats while sleeping .

The home had no central heating. The only warmth came from the kitchen oven and two space heaters—one in the living room pointed at a cot, another in a bedroom. Overnight temperatures inside the house dropped to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 6 Celsius) .

A System That Failed

Perhaps most shocking: authorities had been called to the Gwynne Hill Road home nearly 50 times in the years before Dominique's death . The Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services received five separate reports of alleged abuse or neglect over six years. Teachers expressed concerns about one child's poor hygiene and odor. Family members called dispatchers requesting welfare checks .

Each time, investigations closed with "insufficient evidence" to substantiate the allegations. Dominique herself was never enrolled in school, despite approaching age seven, effectively invisible to the educators who might have noticed her suffering .

Atravis Powell Sr., the mortician preparing Dominique's body for burial, told reporters that based on the healing progress of her scars and injuries, some of the abuse dated back four to five years—nearly her entire life .

J. Vernon Peterson, a distant great-uncle who runs Unity Funeral Services, did not mince words when describing the systemic failure that left Dominique in her abusers' care. "The system has blood on its hands," he said .

'Prolonged Abuse and Torture'

Assistant District Attorney Desmond McCallum told the court during a February hearing that cellphone data and Apple Cloud information confirmed Dominique had been imprisoned in a bathroom and dog crate for "prolonged abuse and torture" lasting months or years .

Robinson told investigators she was often left in charge when Tonya McKnight traveled—sometimes multiple times per month. She admitted seeing Dominique duct-taped, left without food, and sitting in soiled diapers for days, but she never intervened .

The arrest affidavit states bluntly: "The inhospitable state of the residence, the children residing amongst rats and cockroaches, the children being bitten by rats, the residence's daily lack of heat, and the duct taping are well known to all three individuals" .

The Legal Road Ahead

All three women remain in custody at the Mecklenburg County Jail . Their next court appearance is scheduled for February 26, 2026 .

First-degree murder charges in North Carolina carry potential sentences of death or life in prison without parole. While Mecklenburg County has not pursued the death penalty in over a decade, criminal defense attorney Rob Heroy, who reviewed the affidavit for WBTV, noted that "outrageous conduct meets the definition of first degree murder in multiple ways" .

Who Was Dominique Moody

Dominique came into Tonya McKnight's custody in September 2021 after her biological mother, Tonya's sister, signed permanent custody agreements citing her own instability and inability to care for her children . The arrangement was formalized through court order.

For the next four years, instead of finding safety, Dominique found a living nightmare. She was starved, beaten, bound, caged, and ultimately left to die in a freezing house where the adults who should have protected her placed her body by the stove—as if warmth could undo what they had done.

Her younger sister, who turned six, told investigators she watched the women tie Dominique with black tape "all the time" and whip her until her body became swollen . That sister was among the four surviving children removed from the home after Dominique's death.

A Community's Outrage

County Commissioner Mark Jerrell, a father of two girls, called the case "heartbreaking" and promised a full review of policies. "We don't want to see a situation like this happen ever again in Mecklenburg County," he said .

For Dominique, the promises come too late. Her body, bearing the scars of a short life marked by unimaginable cruelty, now rests at Unity Funeral Services, where Atravis Powell Sr. prepares her for burial—struggling, like so many others, to swallow the horror of what one child endured.

"This is something that you just can't swallow," he said .

The women who allegedly stole her childhood and her life now await trial. But for Dominique Moody—27 pounds, four broken ribs, covered in scars, locked in a cage, starved for food and love—justice, whatever form it takes, will never be enough.

If you suspect child abuse or neglect, contact the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. In North Carolina, report concerns to your local Department of Social Services.